Effect of vehicular traffic on wild animals in Sigur Plateau, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The construction of a road, directly and indirectly, impacts on the ecosystems where the road is built. Highways passing through national reserves/wildlife sanctuaries have an adverse impact on wild animals. The present survey was conducted to estimate the road kills on the state highways passing through the Nilgiri north territorial forest division (19km) and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (15km) in Sigur Plateau, Tamil Nadu, India. The road kills were monitored three times a month between July 2013 and December 2013 (six months) and a total of 176 road kills belonging to 30 species were recorded. Reptiles were the most affected taxa (39%), followed by mammals (33%) and birds (21%). Amphibians were least affected by vehicular traffic and comprised 7% of the total kills. According to road stretch category, the overall road kill was N=135 in the forested area and N=41 in human habitations. A total of 812 food materials were encounterd 612km with average of 1.32 food materials / km. Conservation and management implications are essential to prevent the local extinction of wildlife.