Roadkill is causing numbers of rare species to drop, experts say only solution is to increase drivers' awareness.

Road accidents are known to kill thousands of people all over India. However, experts now say animals too fall prey to speeding and haphazard driving on local roads as well as state highways. Many of these are rare and protected species, such as the two Indian Wolves that were killed at Kasurde Phata near Pargaon Khandala village in Satara district within a span of two weeks.

"The wolf was recently declared Pune's district denizen and is an endangered species. Their numbers are already dropping due to anthropogenic pressure; to find them dying in such a manner is a matter of concern," said Dr Sachin Punekar, naturalist and senior scientist at Nairobi Godrej Centre for Plant Research, who spotted the wolves. Punekar, along with Anish Pardeshi a student of environmental science, have started mapping roadkill of various animal groups across different habitat gradients via GPS to document the killings, which in turn will help in conservation.

Wolves are not the only animals to fall prey to speeding drivers. Snakes are the most commonly affected, especially the shieldtail snake which is less agile come out only during monsoons.

"The shieldtails are endemic to the Western ghats. In the past two weeks that I have documented, I have seen 61 such kills in Tamhini Ghat itself," said Pardeshi.

Besides Pardeshi, nature-lover Vilas Kane has also made a documentary on roadkill and documented a large number of snakes dying every year. As per his estimate, around 6 lakh snakes die in Maharashtra alone every year, most of which are during May to June end, and September to October.

"More than poaching, it is road accidents which are hurting wildlife numbers. The problem is there is no consolidated data available due to which the intensity is not clear. Besides the snakes, around 25 times more frogs must be dying all across the state. Leopards and tigers were also spotted to have died in various parts of the state. While mammals being run over can be construed as negligence of the drivers' part, reptiles cannot always be seen from inside a car. The only way to curb this is to increase awareness. If a driver is more conscious, he can spot the reptiles and save them," said Kane.

Highlighting reasons why animals may come out on the highways, Dr Satish Pradhan, ex-joint director of the Zoological Survey of India, Pune, said "These animals have their territories decided. We cannot tell them where to move. In Maharashtra, semi-arid areas such as Dhule, Marathwada and Osmanabad have wolf spottings. The animals move as per their prey's movements. Therefore it is important to be watchful in these areas."

Admitting that roadkill is indeed a cause for concern, Sunil Limaye, chief conservator of forests said, "There are areas near Indapur or Bhigwan where such animals cross the road. We are already in talks with the Public Works Department regarding designing big boards to warn drivers about animal movement. We will also be putting rumbler strips in particular areas.