A golden jackal was crushed to death by an unidentified speeding vehicle around midnight recently, on the service road near DPS Flamingo Lake, Nerul, in Navi Mumbai.
An unidentified four-wheeler hit the jackal, crushing it, a volunteer of the Wildlife Welfare Association (WWA) said, as reported in our paper. Environmentalists have called for strict measures to prevent such occurrences.
Some called for a complete halt to any further real estate development in the area to protect mangrove-wetland wildlife. They said that the DPS Flamingo Lake and surrounding mangroves were recently declared a conservation reserve, and the area around it must be left undisturbed for wildlife.
Others pointed to speeding vehicles on the service road parallel to Palm Beach Road, which have become a major hazard. There should be speed restrictions on the service road, even if stopping all development cannot be done immediately. This can be enforced much quicker and in an easier manner.
There should be thinking, deliberation and, if possible, action on activists’ suggestion of a ‘corridor’ to protect jackals. We need to have some ways in which we can save these creatures. Is there a way in which one can make this into a vehicle-free zone, allowing for an alternative route? Even though this is a service road, there can be some effort to shut it off and see if people can simply use the Palm Beach Road.
Signage, lights, caution about speeding, alerting people about wildlife, and speed limit demarcation at the start of these roads can also be explored. A little signage about ecological balance, conservation, preservation and their importance may be educational. This is not to say that everybody will pay heed or even bother to read the signs, but there may be some for whom this will spark a sense of curiosity and awaken their conscience about the importance of preserving nature.