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S. Das et al.
In the present study, a vast majority of villagers were not satisfied with the current
conservation and management activities of the Borail Wildlife Sanctuary. Similar
findings were reported from Kakamega forest in Kenya, where local people were
not satisfied with the protectionist approach (Guthiga et al. 2008). In Borail Wildlife
Sanctuary, a small portion of the local communities practised a religious belief of
protecting non-human primates and banyan trees (Ficus benghalensis), which is
similar to that reported in the worship of python in West Bengal kingdom where
there was evidence that the reptile was associated with success in war (Deb and
Malhotra 2001). In India, traditions and cultural or religious attitudes towards wild
animals often make local people more tolerant towards wildlife, despite the damage
to crops and livestock they cause (Imam et al. 2002).
A large number of fringe villagers considered the recently constructed road i.e.
NH-54E that bisected the sanctuary to be good for them particularly for availing
better transport and communication. However, majority of the locals were not aware
of the road kill of wild animals by speeding of vehicles on the highway. This NH54E seems to be one of the major threats that the Borail Wildlife Sanctuary faces
particularly because it bisects the sanctuary which adversely affects the crossing of
wild animals. There are proposals to upgrade this road to a four lane highway which
is likely to increase the frequency of traffic thereby impacting the movement of
wild animals as there is no established wildlife corridor. This necessitates immediate
mitigation measures in order to save thousands of wild animals including some
endangered species from possible road kills. Similar to our results, another study
from Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu where another national
highway NH 209 bisects the sanctuary reported that the local communities were
partially aware of its impacts on wildlife (Lakshminarayanan and Mohan Raj 2015).
Major roads passing through forests cause irreversible physical disturbances to
the forest, and act as barriers to flora and fauna, curtailing free physical movement
and even genetic flow. Roads also have other undesirable deleterious consequences to
forest ecology such as weed proliferation, biotic pressure due to littering and others.
Road and highway construction affects wildlife through the direct loss and fragmentation of habitat and by disrupting animal movement and dispersal (Trombulak
and Frissell 2000). Numerous studies from India have demonstrated the ill effects of
major roads on survival prospects of wildlife (Das et al. 2007; Seshadri et al. 2009;
Baskaran and Boominathan 2010). One of the serious direct threats posed by roads to
conservation is wildlife mortality as a result of collisions with speeding vehicles. The
present study also revealed that mortality rate of reptiles was more in Borail Wildlife
Sanctuary as compared to other wild animals by speeding vehicles on road. Similar
findings were noted from the Pench Tiger reserve and Satpura Tiger reserve where
mammals and birds seemed particularly vulnerable (Fellows et al. 2015).
S. Das et al.
In the present study, a vast majority of villagers were not satisfied with the current
conservation and management activities of the Borail Wildlife Sanctuary. Similar
findings were reported from Kakamega forest in Kenya, where local people were
not satisfied with the protectionist approach (Guthiga et al. 2008). In Borail Wildlife
Sanctuary, a small portion of the local communities practised a religious belief of
protecting non-human primates and banyan trees (Ficus benghalensis), which is
similar to that reported in the worship of python in West Bengal kingdom where
there was evidence that the reptile was associated with success in war (Deb and
Malhotra 2001). In India, traditions and cultural or religious attitudes towards wild
animals often make local people more tolerant towards wildlife, despite the damage
to crops and livestock they cause (Imam et al. 2002).
A large number of fringe villagers considered the recently constructed road i.e.
NH-54E that bisected the sanctuary to be good for them particularly for availing
better transport and communication. However, majority of the locals were not aware
of the road kill of wild animals by speeding of vehicles on the highway. This NH54E seems to be one of the major threats that the Borail Wildlife Sanctuary faces
particularly because it bisects the sanctuary which adversely affects the crossing of
wild animals. There are proposals to upgrade this road to a four lane highway which
is likely to increase the frequency of traffic thereby impacting the movement of
wild animals as there is no established wildlife corridor. This necessitates immediate
mitigation measures in order to save thousands of wild animals including some
endangered species from possible road kills. Similar to our results, another study
from Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu where another national
highway NH 209 bisects the sanctuary reported that the local communities were
partially aware of its impacts on wildlife (Lakshminarayanan and Mohan Raj 2015).
Major roads passing through forests cause irreversible physical disturbances to
the forest, and act as barriers to flora and fauna, curtailing free physical movement
and even genetic flow. Roads also have other undesirable deleterious consequences to
forest ecology such as weed proliferation, biotic pressure due to littering and others.
Road and highway construction affects wildlife through the direct loss and fragmentation of habitat and by disrupting animal movement and dispersal (Trombulak
and Frissell 2000). Numerous studies from India have demonstrated the ill effects of
major roads on survival prospects of wildlife (Das et al. 2007; Seshadri et al. 2009;
Baskaran and Boominathan 2010). One of the serious direct threats posed by roads to
conservation is wildlife mortality as a result of collisions with speeding vehicles. The
present study also revealed that mortality rate of reptiles was more in Borail Wildlife
Sanctuary as compared to other wild animals by speeding vehicles on road. Similar
findings were noted from the Pench Tiger reserve and Satpura Tiger reserve where
mammals and birds seemed particularly vulnerable (Fellows et al. 2015).