Steps sought to prevent animals from being hit

A tiger narrowly escapes from being run over by a vehicle on the Mudumalai-Bandipur road

Even as the Mudumalai-Bandipur road across the Nilgiris-Karnataka border continues to be in the news on account of the ban imposed recently on vehicular movement during night to protect wild animals, an incident on Monday has brought into sharp focus the threat posed by speeding vehicles to wildlife.

NARROW ESCAPE

A motorist, G. M. Bhoja Raju, who was proceeding towards Mysore, captured through the camera of his cell phone a tiger narrowly escaping from being hit by a speeding vehicle.

Sharing the picture with some wildlife enthusiasts, he wondered why people drove fast within wildlife habitats.

Speaking to The Hindu here on Tuesday, some wildlife enthusiasts pointed out that since there were no speed-breakers on the stretch, most motorists drove fast. Pointing out that there were speed-breakers within the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, they felt that similar speed control measures should be implemented between Mudumalai and Bandipur also.

The number of tigers in the Nilgiris, Karnataka and Kerala had gone up to about 260, they said.

“CARE FOR WILDLIFE”

Motorists should be sensitive to the needs of the wild animals in general and particularly to those of the tiger, they added.