論文ID: 23.004
Collisions between wildlife and vehicles are a growing conservation issue in Nepal. We examined spatial and temporal patterns of wildlife roadkill in Banke National Park and Bardia National Park. During six surveys conducted between April and June 2022, 101 animal carcasses were recorded along a 126-km stretch of the east-west national highway that runs through the two national parks. The opportunistic secondary data from national park records showed that there were 375 roadkill incidents between July 2017 and May 2022. Based on primary and secondary data (476 road fatalities from 35 different species), mammals were the most affected group (77.31%), followed by reptiles (12.61%), birds (6.93%), and amphibians (3.15%). The number of road fatalities per km was higher in Banke (0.77) than in Bardia (0.49). Poisson regression models show that road sections with high visibility (β = −0.41) and road sections passing through human settlements (β = −0.72) have fewer road fatalities. In contrast, mortality rates were higher on road sections that crossed water bodies (β = 0.54), passed through the core of the national park (β = 0.82), and near park checkpoints (β = 1.03). Seasonal variations in traffic accidents show a higher number of fatalities in winter (χ2 = 17.54). Overall, our results identify landscape features that may make roads more susceptible to traffic accidents, highlighting the need to consider their spatial distribution when prioritizing roadside mitigation measures. We recommend regulating vehicle speeds along wildlife concentration areas and clearing roadside vegetation to improve visibility, especially in winter, should help reduce the number of wildlife roadkill.
