Animals flee from fatal floods in Kaziranga National Park, get hit by vehicles

As floods wreak havoc in Assam, animals in the Kaziranka National Park are having a tough time evading disaster. As of September 2, 13 animals from the national park have lost their lives to flood and related causes. Of these, 9 have been killed in vehicular collisions.

As per Park officials, the cases of animals getting hit by vehicles is due to their natural tendency to cross highways as they attempt to reach high grounds away from the flooded areas.

Park officials have enforced strict speed limits as well as installed road barriers and warning signs on highways inside the wildlife sanctuary, but road kills have still been reported.

With torrential monsoons inundating more than 50 percent of the 430 square kilometre park, animals including elephants and deer have been seeing crossing roads. The officials recently rescued three animals.

A park official told Guwahati Plus that while a lot of people have been maintaining the speed limit, some seem to violate it.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also recently appealed to vehicles crossing the national park to ensure the safety of animals.

Among the animals killed in road accidents are a capped langur, a python and 7 hog deer.

The flood situation in Assam has marginally improved with the monsoon set to subside this week. The floods impacted over 6.4 lakh people in the state. Around 4.9 lakh people still remain affected.

Source : DNA India