Bareilly: A day after angry villagers mowed down a tigress with a tractor in the core area of Dudhwa tiger reserve in Lakhimpur Kheri district, a blackbuck was found dead on Sambhal-Gavan road, which is a part of Sambhal-Bulandshahr state highway. The animal was apparently run over by an unidentified vehicle. Passersby saw the carcass and informed both police and forest officials about it.The blackbuck, a protected species, is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Act, 1972. Offences committed under this schedule invite highest penalty. Also known as the Indian antelope, blackbuck population had dwindled in the 60s. It has now risen to around 25,000 across the country, according to a report released in April 2018.Forest officials confirmed that the carcass was of a male blackbuck but are awaiting the autopsy report to determine its age. Divisional forest officer of Sambhal, DK Chaturvedi, said, “After conducting an autopsy, the carcass was buried. The report will arrive on Tuesday,” he added.Divisional forest officer DK Chaturvedi said, “A good number of blackbuck are found in Panvasa tehsil of Sambhal district. Every year, we report a couple of such incidents here in which an animal succumbs to fatal road accident,” he said.“Around 400 blackbucks live in Panvasa tehsil though there is no wildlife sanctuary, forest area or national park nearby. The nearest forest area is in Amroha, which is around 100 km from here. Probably, decades ago, a herd of blackbucks arrived here and found the area suitable with abundant fodder and ponds for survival. Villagers also do not harm the animal despite the fact that they enter their fields to feed on standing crop,” the DFO said.According to forest officials, due to heavy traffic on this road, animals are often run over vehicles. “We witnessed a similar incident on this road on Friday, when a monkey was mowed down by a speeding truck,” Chaturvedi added.

Stay updated with all the Bareilly Lates News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.