The goal of Operation Safe Water Basins is to rescue animals that fall into the water collection basins scattered throughout the Calabrian countryside; as part of this initiative, the Aspromonte National Park Authority is installing specially designed escape ramps. These structures allow red kites and many other animal species to escape a gruesome death once they fall into the “gebbie”—large or small basins enclosed by vertical concrete walls.
Given the extremely high number of basins in the area, the cooperation of farmers and ranchers through DIY efforts is essential to make as many of them as possible safe.
For this reason, the Aspromonte National Park Authority has produced a brochure that, on the one hand, aims to explain to those who own irrigation tanks just how dangerous these structures are for wildlife and, on the other, provides useful instructions for building inexpensive and easy-to-install escape ramps.
With minimal effort, you can help many animals, both large and small, and prevent an attempt to drink from turning into a painful death.
The brochure illustrates various types of ramps, made of mesh and wood, along with a list of necessary materials and instructions for construction and installation. Finally, it describes how to build a floating platform, which is effective for saving birds’ lives but, unfortunately, not for other animals.
The ramps installed by the Park consist of corrugated stainless steel mesh panels protected on the sides by U-shaped profiles that reinforce the structure and cover the sharp edges of the mesh. Two galvanized iron tubes, one attached to the bottom edge of the ramp and one to the top edge, allow the ramp to rest on the bottom of the pool and be secured to the edge.
It is important that the structure, regardless of its type, has no exposed sharp parts (mesh edges, binding wires, etc.) and that it is installed in such a way that animals cannot become trapped underneath it.
For more information on the technical design of the ramps installed by the Park or to report the death of animals in the pools, please contact the Park Authority (info.posta@parconazionaleaspromonte.it, tel. 0965/743060).
To download the “Operation safe gebbie” brochure, click here
The type of access ramp installed by the Aspromonte National Park
