‘Wildlife has first right of way’: IFS officer urges people to drive carefully in forested areas

“On roads around forest, wildlife has first right of way. Please drive carefully!!” Kaswan tweeted along with a photograph of the dead animal. He later added in another tweet, “This one lost his life on a road near a forest area. While trying to cross the road a speeding vehicle hit & ran away.”

On roads around forest, wildlife has first right of way. Please drive carefully !! pic.twitter.com/LXUm8eJNrm

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) February 27, 2022

This one lost his life on a road near a forest area.

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While trying to cross the road a speeding vehicle hit & ran away.

— Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) February 28, 2022

In India, many endangered animals die after they are hit by vehicles in an attempt to cross roads and railway tracks.

In January this year, a two-year-old male leopard was rescued by the forest department after it was hit by a vehicle on the Western Peripheral Expressway in Haryana’s Nuh. While in this case the animal was saved, for most injuries turn out to be fatal.

Wth are roads even allowed to pass through forests ? I think we have enough roads and alternative modes of transport. Why can’t they be removed ?

— Potatox Chipz ⚡ (@DrkCarnage1) February 27, 2022

@dp_satish this was a routine affair in Bandipur before the traffic ban was imposed for night time traffic
Many such lives of tigers , leopards and other endangered wild animals have been saved due to this ban.
Pls don’t advocate to revoke this ban and endanger the animals.

— Shettre (@Vishwasshettre) February 27, 2022

Please drive carefully will not work (not a viable solution) to avoid such mishaps you need to keep either of the party away from the roads during the night, blocking the entry of vehicles during the night will help…

— v!kram (@KaheKabira) February 27, 2022

You are right sir.
But people actually drive more fast on forest adjacent roads.
Are underpass, overpass, etc real solutions.?
Trains many times hit wild animals drive slowly only for few upcoming days.

— Shantanu Deshmukh (@shantanurajura) February 27, 2022

Very bad. They’re the owners and we are the trespassers.

— nitin kulkarni (@nitin3371) February 27, 2022

Animal rights activists and wildlife conservation experts have demanded the construction of “wildlife corridors” to prevent such accidents. Wildlife corridors can be made in form of an underpass or an overpass that replace regular roads in forested areas so that animals do not come in contact with passing traffic.

The Balasaheb Thackeray Samruddhi Mahamarg constructed between Nagpur and Mumbai in Maharashtra is set to be the country’s first highway project that will include multiple wildlife corridors to facilitate safe animal movement.