Tiger Killed By Speeding SUV On Highway Inside Corbett Reserve As Man-Animal Conflict Continues
2021 has started off to a not so promising year of the wildlife in India.?
In a tragic incident, an adult tiger was killed after it was hit by a speeding SUV on the Ramnagar-Nainital highway in Uttarakhand.
According to reports, the incident happened late on Wednesday, when the tiger was crossing the Ramnagar-Nainital highway.
No end to man-animal conflict
"The tiger was probably trying to cross the road when the car - travelling at high speed - knocked it down," KL Arya, ranger, Fatehpur told The Times of India.
Though the authorities were alerted about the accident, only the next day morning the body was recovered, some 150 meters away from where it was rammed by the SUV.
The tiger was cremated after postmortem and the driver of the SUV, which was also damaged in the collision was arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
'A terrible loss'
"A terrible loss. Speed took another precious life. Driving slow and cautiously is must in wildlife rich areas," Indian Forest Service officer Ramesh Pandey wrote on Twitter.
As per available data, at least 16 tigers have lost their lives due to road accidents in the state in the past 20 years.
Ramnagar area has seen similar deaths in the past too.?
In December 2019, a pregnant tigress was killed after a vehicle ran over the big cat on Ramnagar-Haldwani road.?
In fact, road kills are one of the biggest causes of unnatural deaths among tigers in India after poaching.
Between 2012 and 2019 a total of 42 tigers were killed in India due to unnatural reasons, including accidents.
Environmentalists have been for long calling for stricter rules and regulations of traffic especially at night within protected areas to prevent such roadkills.
