Telling Numbers: Roadkill and extinction risk for leopards in North India

What is the News?

According to a study published in the Global Ecology and Biogeography journal, the leopard population in north India faces an 83% increased risk of extinction due to roadkill.

What are the key findings of the study?

Source: Indian Express

The study has identified four species from around the world at the highest risk of extinction due to road kills.

Among them, the Leopard population of North India faces an 83% increased risk of extinction due to roadkill. It estimates that the time for the North Indian leopard population’s extinction is at 33 years.

The leopard is followed by the maned wolf and the little spotted cat, both of Brazil, and the brown hyena of Southern Africa.

Other populations found highly vulnerable include the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) and sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in South India.

Hotspot Regions of Roadkills

The study has identified Sub-Saharan Africa and south-eastern Asia as regions where roads can lead to loss of mammalian biodiversity.

Therefore, these are the areas where future road development and road mitigation need to be carefully considered.

Source: This post is based on the article “Telling Numbers: Roadkill and extinction risk for leopards in North India” published in “Indian Express” on 6th November 2021.