The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) has been enforcing traffic measures near the Haibin Tunnel (海濱隧道) on Highway No. 2 to protect the habitat of eastern bent-wing bats.
Since 1990, eastern bent-wing bats have been appearing annually at a cave near the tunnel, which is in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳), the agency said.
Female bats arrive in about May or June, with each giving birth to only one pup, the agency added.
The Bat Conservation Society of Taipei said that about 400,000 bats appear annually around the cave during the peak season, including females and their pups.
Female bent-wing bats teach their babies to fly and other survival skills before they leave for their winter habitats, the agency said.
However, traffic heading to the tunnel has been threatening the bat pups as they take their flying lessons, resulting in a substantial number of roadkill, it said.
To protect their natural habitat and reduce roadkill, the agency’s maintenance office last year started reducing the speed limit near the tunnel from 60kph to 40kph between 6pm and 8pm from May to September.
This year, the speed limit is displayed on a changeable sign, and information on the bat-crossing area is conveyed through the agency’s content management system, it said.
There are also red and blue alarm lights to warn drivers to slow down while passing through the area, it added.
These measures have helped reduce bat deaths from vehicles by about 60 percent, the office said.
Next year, the maintenance office is to work with the Bat Conservation Society to gather roadkill statistics to help it develop more bat-friendly traffic regulations, the agency said.
The agency is also collaborating with conservationists to prevent the deaths of leopard cats, a protected species in Taiwan.
Another agency office is regulating traffic on Highway No. 26 at certain hours from July to October to allow female land crabs to cross the road and lay eggs, it said.
The agency also has a maintenance office dedicated to the preservation of Taiwan blue magpies, whereas another is ensuring that highway traffic does not harm the natural habitats of butterflies, it said.
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