Seven more elephants killed by a train in India, causing serious concern
Seven elephants were killed in north Bengal, India, on Wednesday night, by a goods train that was travelling at almost 70kmh through the Banarhat area of Jalpaiguri District. Four of the elephants were killed instantly, while the other three died the following day.
Goods trains regularly pass through elephant habitat during the night, and this is when most collisions occur. It has been reported that the wildlife and forest officials blame the railway authorities for not enforcing a 25kmh speed limit through the region, while the Northeast Frontier Railways claimed that the incident did not take place within an identified corridor.
In a project supported by Elephant Family, the Wildlife Trust of India has found that as well as enforcing speed limits, night patrols to alert train drivers to elephants crossing the tracks can be particularly effective at reducing casualties. Speed limits in accident hotspots, tracking of elephants along tracks, and research into warning systems for when large animals are crossing are also among the recommendations set out in last month’s Elephant Task Force report from the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests. Where tracks pass through elephant corridors it is also recommended that over- or underpasses are constructed in critical bottleneck areas. However, the problem is that recommendations are not always enforced, and as well as insisting on speed limits, experts also call for a ban on the movement of goods trains at night in particularly sensitive areas. Belinda Wright, founder and director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, said "It is ridiculous that so many elephants are being killed and we are sitting idle. Things came to such a pass as the government did not react to the demands of wildlife activists".
Following last month’s incident in Kerala, this now brings the total for 2010 to at least 19 elephants killed by trains. With approximately 150 elephants killed in this way since 1987, this year’s tally is therefore much greater than the annual average, which itself has shown an upward trend, despite Elephant Family’s efforts with the Wildlife Trust of India to remedy the situation. While this year’s count may just come down to chance, the threat is worsening due to the expansion of the railways with the growth of India’s economy, combined with altered ranging patterns of elephants in increasingly fragmented habitats. Elephant Family will therefore continue to invest in the Wildlife Trust of India’s initiative next year, in the hope that extending their approach to more of the worst affected areas will begin to reverse the situation.
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written by Dan Bucknell on 24th September 10
