Look right, look left, and right again. Hong Kong residents are no strangers to zebra crossings. But a network of new crossings is being built to help a different type of pedestrian safely across the road. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department has finished testing the city's first animal crossing to facilitate the passage of wildlife under the six-lane Route 3 near Tai Lam Tunnel in the New Territories. Conservation officer Shek Chung-tong, of the department's mammal working group, which conducted a photographic survey of the animal crossing over six months, said it snapped 124 mammals from 11 species around the 70-metre concrete tunnel, including badgers, porcupines, mongooses, leopard cats, wild pigs and red muntjac deer. Two masked palm civets were also recorded inside the tunnel. Mr Shek said usage could have been boosted if the animal crossing had been built further from the Tai Lam Tunnel, which already acts as a natural overpass for wildlife. The Highways Department is also building a crossing under Lantau's Tung Chung Road between Lung Tseng Tau and Cheung Sha for the endemic, threatened Romer's tree frog. Another crossing is being built at the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation's Lok Ma Chau terminus for migrating otters. 'Animal crossings are quite common in Europe and the US, but rare in Asia,' said conservation officer Wong Yung-hing. 'In the past, we didn't bother with them when we built roads. Our knowledge of the ecological baseline was not as comprehensive as it is now. Since the mid-1990s, environmental studies have been made before the construction of new roads. 'If there are animals moving or migrating around a proposed site, we will build a crossing to mitigate the impact of building a barrier in their habitat,' Mr Wong said. But how do the animals know where to cross? 'Fencing should be built around the crossing to guide the animals to the passageway,' Mr Wong said. 'It is important to use natural bottoms, such as soil and leaf litter. For aquatic or semi-aquatic species, like otters or frogs, a stream is recommended.' Mr Wong said the two crossings would include ponds to help keep animals moist, while mesh nets would be set up at Tung Chung Road to keep the Romer's tree frogs off the road.
