Turtles may look like they will survive an ISIS bombing attack, but they are fragile little creatures. Often, their lives are put in danger when they try to cross roads, which is why some countries build wildlife bridges over highways.
Japan is viewed as a stern protector of its wildlife, even though the same cannot be said with respect to oceans. The country has an island full of bunnies, another one filled with cats and a town where large populations of deer nonchalantly wander the streets.
The West Japan Railway Company and Suma Aqualife Park have joined forces to make the country safe for turtles as well.
The park is essentially a giant aquarium and beach resort in the Kobe district. Most of the tourists get there by train. However, the tracks interfere with the migratory path of the turtles to the nearby ocean.
Every year, these slow-moving reptiles get stuck on the tracks, causing delays in the arrival schedule. What's more, as you can see in the photos provided by the railway company, the animals can cause train accidents by getting wedged between the lines at junctions. When the switches flip, they fail to close completely due to the turtles' shells.
It's a common problem too, as the animals that were unable to climb over the metal rails follow along the tracks until they get stuck or killed by the trains. The West Japan Railway fixed this problem by installing escape ditches for the turtles at set intervals along the railroad.
“The system prevents turtles from getting into accidents and avoids causing trouble for our passengers. We hope to continue using it,” said a JR West official.
Since installing the system in April, the company says it's witnessed ten turtles in the ditches. That doesn't sound like a lot, but ten animals saved and ten potential accidents avoided is great.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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