Snow Leopard Dies on the Road | How to Avoid the Tragedy of "Road Kill"?
According to multiple media reports, recently, someone reported that a snow leopard carcass was found on National Highway 109 in Xidatan, Golmud City. The scene was covered in blood and it was suspected to have been hit by a vehicle. According to eyewitnesses, the relevant situation has been reported to the local forest police.
On April 5, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Golmud City issued a situation report stating that "we received reports from the public that there was a dead snow leopard on National Highway 109 in Xidatan, Golmud City." After receiving the report, our bureau attached great importance to it and quickly rushed to the scene to investigate together with the city’s forest police and traffic police departments. After on-site investigation, a male snow leopard died on the road more than 130 kilometers away from the city of Golmud, and there were traces of bloody wheels at the scene. At present, the public security department is investigating and verifying the cause of the snow leopard’s death. If any illegal acts are found, they will be severely punished in accordance with the law."
A study has shown that among the 4,677 mammal species in the world, the population stability of 124 species is seriously threatened by "road kill". The article points out that without considering the impact of other human factors, if the current "road kill" threat is not effectively alleviated, mammals such as the maned wolf and small spotted tiger cat in Brazil, the brown hyena in South Africa and the leopard in northern India will become extinct in the next 50 years.
The most direct impact of transportation networks on wildlife is habitat destruction and ecological barriers, which cause varying degrees of barrier effects on the movement of wildlife and exchanges between populations, reduce their genetic diversity, and threaten the survival ability of various species populations in the region and the balance of the ecosystem.
As people pay more and more attention to biodiversity conservation, they are gradually aware of the multiple ecological significance and value of ecological connectivity. "Ecological corridors" have also become a hot topic in biodiversity conservation research. In road construction, my country has also begun to pay more and more attention to the impact of roads on ecological connectivity. my country has built a variety of migration corridors in many ecologically sensitive areas to ensure the normal migration and flow of wild animals. For example, the Qinghai-Tibet Highway built a channel bridge for Tibetan antelopes, and the primate ecological corridor in the Chongzuo White-headed Langur National Nature Reserve in Guangxi.
In fact, these are far from enough. We should also increase publicity and law enforcement efforts, set speed limits for hotspots where wild animals frequently appear, set speed bumps, set up warning signs, strictly limit speed limits, and increase penalties for speeding drivers; in addition, big data and AI can be used to monitor and publish the presence of wild animals in real time to remind drivers to slow down.
For individuals, we should maintain the most basic respect for life. When driving, we must carefully observe the surrounding situation and slow down, especially in hotspots where wild animals frequently appear and during the peak period of animal migration. If we slow down a little bit, we may be able to effectively avoid the tragedy of wild animals being killed on the road.
Original Chinese Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/yv2l7PHpaXT4b2iStmzWLQ
Translator: Maggie
Checked by: YJ
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