Preventing wildlife accidental deaths, Uttarakhand forest dept issues advisory

Dehradun, December 23: After a pregnant tigress with three fetuses was run over by a vehicle in Ramnagar, Uttarakhand state forest department has issued an advisory to the department to ensure safety and security of the wild. 

Rajiv Bhartari, chief wildlife warden, Uttarakhand said, "The advisory has been issued to take precautions on motorways near the forests. Foggy weather and not following the speed limit causes such unfortunate incidents."

The check posts will also spread awareness among the drivers of vehicles. Earlier, a leopard near Rajaji National Park on December 11 and a pregnant tigress was killed by a speeding vehicle in Ramnagar on Friday.

"We appeal to the people to consider wildlife as their own asset. Any loss of wildlife is a personal loss. We need to follow the speed limit in areas frequented by wildlife to prevent any such loss," added the chief wildlife warden.

Efforts are also on to apprehend the person and vehicle which hit the tigress.

According to state forest depart data; total 15 tigers have lost their lives in accidents since year 2001.

Uttarakhand has lost a total of 212 elephants, leopards and tigers in 'accidents' from the year 2001-19, the data from state forest department have revealed.

The department is working on drafting a plan to reduce accidents on rail tracks, roads and of other types.

The data includes deaths due on rail tracks, roads and accidents at roads passing through forest areas. Out of total 212, 133 leopards, 64 elephants and 15 tigers have died over the years in duration of 18 years. The figures are from the year 2001 to March 2019.