Speeding Vehicle Runs Over Sloth Bear on NH-163 in Jangaon
The incident occurred between 4 am and 5 am when the animal was trying to cross the highway divider from right to left while moving towards the Shivaipally road from Chagallu in Raghunathpally mandal
WARANGAL: A male sloth bear aged about four to five years was killed after being hit by a speeding heavy vehicle on National Highway 163 near Chagallu village under the Station Ghanpur Forest Range in Jangaon district early on Wednesday, forest officials said.
The incident occurred between 4 am and 5 am when the animal was trying to cross the highway divider from right to left while moving towards the Shivaipally road from Chagallu in Raghunathpally mandal. A heavy vehicle travelling from Hanamkonda towards Hyderabad allegedly hit the bear, crushing its head and killing it on the spot, officials said. The carcass was later found in roadside bushes.
Forest range officer K. Chandrakanth Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that local farmers alerted forest staff about the incident. He said the team rushed to the spot, recovered the carcass and conducted the post-mortem.
“Due to the heavy impact, the animal died instantly. We conducted the post-mortem and carried out the final rites with full honours as per the orders of higher officials,” he said.
Officials said there were no CCTV cameras at the exact location to identify the vehicle involved. A case has been registered. The FRO said the bear was suspected to have strayed from nearby hill areas in Raghunathpally mandal.
Members of the Orugallu Wildlife Society (OWLS) expressed concern over the incident and said the sloth bear was protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. “The sloth bear is recognised as a highly protected species under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Any harm to such a species is a serious offense under the law, which provides ‘High Protection’ to these animals,” the OWLS team stated.
The society urged the government to identify the stretch as a wildlife corridor and install speed breakers and warning signboards to prevent similar incidents.
