With another tiger getting critically injured in a road accident in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday, this year has seen the highest-ever road accidents involving the big cats.

Three leopards, one tiger and an elephant have been killed in road accidents in India so far this year.

The Environment Ministry told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that as many as 16 animals have been killed in road accidents since September 2003. The toll includes five tigers, seven panthers, two leopards and two elephants. All incidents have been reported on roads passing through or along boundaries of reserved forests areas.

While the Dehradun forest range saw two leopards die on the National Highway alongside the reserve this year, one elephant was killed near the Corbett Tiger reserve and another tigress killed near Haldwani in the Nainital range. “While the ‘missing tigers’ have raised concerns across the nation and ‘Project Tiger’ is on the job to protect the big cats from becoming extinct, the roads of India are fast becoming their silent stalkers,” a top Ministry official told The Indian Express.

The only first few steps towards animal road safety came recently with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) planning a special underpass for elephants through Delhi-Dehradun corridor, which passes through the Rajaji national park. “Be it National Highways or railway lines, animals are killed because these routes are not well lit and in the night when vehicles are driving on high beam, animals with their lateral vision follow the glare and ultimately get killed. While roads have to be made to reach these areas, the solution is to install light electrical fencing along these animal corridors to keep them from crossing these sections,” said Uma Menon, Wildlife Warden, Delhi Government.

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