India’s Environment and Forest Minister Jayanti Natarajan has informed that this year, 28 elephants, 3 tigers and 1 rhino have died due to road, rail accidents and electrocution across all states in the country. This number does not take into account the deaths of these animals in the hands of poachers.
As on December 3rd this year, according to the records shared by the minister in the parliament, most casualties this year was that of jumbos, majority of deaths in the Eastern states and due to rail collisions.
In 2012, 54 elephants and six tigers died due to rail, road accidents or electrocution, the Minister said. This year though, no Lion deaths due to accidents or electrocution have been reported unlike last year when one lion died due to accident.
Speaking on the rising cases of elephant deaths in the country due to train collisions, the minister said that she had issued a general advisory to all the railway zones suggesting measures to prevent collision of trains with wild animals.
“A permanent coordination team has been constituted jointly by both the ministries to share information and monitor the implementation of the advisory on a quarterly basis,” Natarajan said.
The measures suggested to the railway department are to maintain the speed of the trains, especially in crucial areas where elephant corridors are known. It has also been adviced to designate nodal offices in the areas for quick sharing of information.
On November 13th this year, seven elephants including two calves were tragically killed when a passenger train hit them in West Bengal. The train was traveling at 80 kilometers (50 miles) an hour through the Chapramari Forest, near Gorumara National Park, when it struck the herd of 40 elephants crossing the tracks at dusk.
The Heritage Animal of India is ironically also the mascot of the Indian railways.
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Image via Daily Mail
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