Japanese Railroad Partners With Aquarium to Create Safe Passage for Turtles Crossing the Tracks

Turtles

The West Japan Railway Company recently partnered with the Suma Aqualife Park in Kobe, Japan, to implement a strategy to make the tracks safer for native turtles who often get caught between the rails when trying to cross. Stuck turtles create a hazard, not only to themselves, but also can cause dangerous situations for the humans on the train. The turtles can also cause damage to the railways and the trains. To remedy the situation, the partnership created tiny channels that run under the tracks and are terrapin, human and train-friendly, which was put to use on April 10, 2015 after experimentation proved helpful. So far, the system has save 10 turtles.

(translated) A turtle was put into a U-shaped groove, a method for safely securing the animal. Turtle rescue equipment was installed in April this year and because it helped 10 turtles in April-August, perhaps it will be considered to have avoided 10 accidents to the railroad.

image via Suma Aqualife Park

via RocketNews24

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.