Mumbai: In an attempt to create a wider database on animal deaths due to being hit on the roads, the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) has designed a mobile application and a website named ‘Roadkills’ which will allow people to report accidental deaths of wild animals. People can upload a picture of the deceased animal, along with geo-tagging the location of the accident on the mobile application.
This will be followed by experts who will identify the species to which the animal belongs and build a database that will be used in identifying locations on the roads that are prone to such accidents.
“Each year countless small and big animals fall prey to road accidents, especially on those stretches that cut through forests and wildlife corridors. In order to zero down on such critical sections of roads that are heavily used by wildlife and are likely to kill huge number of wild animals, we have developed the app to look at the accident-prone areas. We are also trying to involve citizens to apprise them with the situation,” said Anish Andheria, president, WCT.
The data would help suggest spots where government agencies can build underpasses or overpasses to give a safe passage to the animals.
“The only way of reducing casualties of hapless wildlife and also of people who get involved in car accidents with large animals, is to build efficient mitigation structures such as over- and under-passes in strategic locations, where animals are most likely to cross,” added Mr Andheria.
This unique Citizen Science programme will allow everyone who downloads this app to participate in a conservation movement that may lead to construction of mitigation structures on those road stretches so that development and wildlife conservation can go hand-in-hand.
