Project to mitigate roadkills find vehicles are turning out to be the new No 1 enemy of the reptile, other wildlife
Guess what is turning out to be the biggest threat to pythons in and around Ahmedabad - The speeding vehicles on our roads!
Data collected through a survey and an app as part of a project to help mitigate python deaths due to roadkill found that the development of road networks has led to more pythons being killed by speeding vehicles than people.
In fact, those working in the field say the highways and roads in and around Viramgam and Sanand are particularly turning out to be a hotspot for such kills.
The survey, based on data shared with the forest department, found that between 2015 and 2017, total 26 pythons were killed in roadkills. Overall, more than 340 wildlife (small and big) were victims of roadkill during the three years.
Soham Mukherjee, a herpetologist who is working with the Roadkill Mitigation for Indian Rock Python and Other Wildlife project, said a triangular area of road network between Viramgam and Sanand sees a high rate of roadkills than anywhere else in Gujarat.
In 2017, 9 pythons, 22 jungle cats, 2 jackals, 47 monitor lizards, and several other reptiles were killed in roadkill incidents on that stretch.
Explaining why this could be the case, Mukherjee said it was because though the area was farmland habitat, a substantial diversity of wildlife is found there.
"Moreover, it is close to Nalsarovar and it has several various water bodies, lakes, ponds, and irrigation canals. The easy availability of water and fragmented microhabitat supports a wide variety of wildlife including jackal, jungle cat, and the Indian Rock Python," said Mukherjee.
He said earlier the place had a lot of kaccha road but now it boasts of well-developed tar roads even in the interiors. "This is one reason why the road kills are on the rise," said Mukherjee.
The roadkills happen when wildlife move locally from one patch to the other for various resources like food and shelter, for breeding, and for territoriality reasons.
Python is a threatened species in India. The roadkill mitigation project is supported by the Wildlife Trust Of India and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.
Rushi Pathak, a wildlife conservationist who is also active in snake rescue, said roadkills remain a major threat not just to pythons but wildlife. "Often when a road is constructed, the last thing on anyone's mind is its impact on wildlife. A road, though desirable, often ends up cutting off wildlife either from their habitat or from their source or food or territory forcing them out on the roads," said Pathak.
"Moreover, we lack any adequate data on roadkills and wildlife in India and hence it becomes difficult to address the problem in the absence of the same," he added.
EXPERT SPEAK
“Often when a road is constructed, the last thing on anyone’s mind is its impact on wildlife. A road, though desirable, often ends up cutting off wildlife either from their habitat or from their source or food or territory forcing them out on the roads,” says Rushi Pathak, a wildlife conservationist
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