Power Line Disks
Kruger National Park is a large piece of land located in South Africa where most belongs to the animals that inhabit it. Of course, there are plenty of camps that are man-made scattered across the park so that visitors and employees have places to stay. For the most part these buildings do not take away from Kruger’s natural beauty, unlike the power lines that connect them. These power lines can be found alongside each of the main roads inside the park. Power lines do not only disturb some of the beauty, but they are harmful to all of the birds that call Kruger National Park home.
Since the park also is home to many of its employees, they cannot just take down the power lines all together. They are needed to keep Kruger running smoothly. Luckily, they came up with a solution. Yellow disks (pictured above) were placed on all of the power lines a couple feet apart from each other. These disks were designed to help make our feathered friends more aware of what was coming up in front of them. Birds are often dying due powerlines. Birds either decide to perch on the power lines or fly straight into them. This events also cause a power disruption in the park. Unfortunately, birds are not the only ones who have negative reactions with these man-made structures. There have been a few cases of giraffes getting tangled up in them as well and dying as a result.
They also have effect on the flora of the bush. When the power lines are installed the area around the base is cleared and the shrubs and trees are having a hard time growing back. This in turn affects the animals that would graze on those bushes and use them for refuge. Sadly, the lovely idea of the disks is no help here.
Kruger national park was lucky enough to find a solution to a problem they brought in, but is it enough to keep all the flora and fauna safe from its negative effects. The park cannot run efficiently without running power lines from camp to camp. The disks design is affective with helping the avian mammals stay safe from death by electrocution, but could more be done? Could they run the power lines underground to help all of the animals? Perhaps there could be an effort made to replant in the areas around the power poles. We do not know for sure, but it could help save lives and bring back the vegetation too.
