Tigers and other wildlife using busy road underpasses
- Posted
Scientists from Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradun who conducted a two-year study have found that 18 wildlife species are using special underpasses on National Highway-44 which passes through the Pench Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. As part of a study on, “Ecological Impact Assessment of Existing and Proposed Road Infrastructure on Important Wildlife Corridors in India for Strategic Planning of Smart Green Infrastructure,” three sites were studied in India. These included the Central Indian tiger landscape including major roads cutting across the animal corridors in the landscape, the National Highway 37 (now 715) cutting through the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape in Assam, and the State Highway 33 passing through the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka. “Tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears and jackals, the major carnivore species in the landscape, were found using the structures with varying frequencies. Wild dogs were found to use the structures the most, followed by tigers. A total of 89 tiger crossings were recorded from six of the nine structures, by 11 individual tigers,” it said. See link below to read more on this intersting topic.