Whose land is it anyway?

Roadkill is a saddening fact of the current scenario in many wildlife sanctuaries across the nation. The train-tracks and highways and roadways cut across the land designated for the safety of animals, leading to said animals’ untimely death while crossing the roads or tracks.

Gir Lion Sanctuary is perhaps, one of the most profound tourist places in all of Saurashtra, Gujarat. It  is the last home of the Asiatic lions in the world, marking Gujarat as the last bastion for the majestic maned kings. The images presented here showcase the probable demise of the subjects due to the phenomenon called “roadkill”.

This specific picture has been taken mid-way of of a railroad track that goes directly through the jungle of the Lion Sanctuary. A chameleon crossing a road might go un-noticed by the motorist. While railway tracks are a necessity for mankind to travel, they do add to the mortality rate of wild animals. The amount on traffic on a particular roadway or railway leads to lessening of natural life of the wild denizens of the area in more ways than the most immediate one, which is, obviously, having creatures accidentally getting mutilated or dead via trains.

A huge number of species of creatures — including elephant, tiger, lion to small birds and animals — have been cut or hit by vehicles of transport. Railway lines are straight interruptions, and like streets, cause an assortment of environmental issues that merit consideration other than direct mortality of natural life. Cars travelling to the Lion Sanctuary to ferry tourists causes a lot of disturbances to the lions present.

Here, a group of monkeys are sitting amidst the track as though they are anticipating their death. While it may be symbolic, it is a fact that the trains will not halt to offer safe passage to monkeys. The need to improve our wellbeing by ensuring our transport systems function in an organized manner should not be at the cost of  our untamed wild animals. Better planning of roadways and railroads, as well as educating the masses on road-safety is the need of the hour.