Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday tweeted and informed that a rhinoceros got hit by a speeding truck and survived in Kaziranga. Sarma said that the truck was intercepted and a challan was issued. He also said that the government is working on a special “32 km elevated corridor”.
Rhinos are our special friends; we’ll not allow any infringement on their space.
In this unfortunate incident at Haldibari the Rhino survived; vehicle intercepted & fined. Meanwhile in our resolve to save animals at Kaziranga we’re working on a special 32-km elevated corridor. pic.twitter.com/z2aOPKgHsx
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) October 9, 2022
The video is through a CCTV installed on the road. It shows a rhino coming out of the jungle and charging towards the other end. That’s when the truck tried to avoid the rhino by changing lanes. However, the truck was speeding and could not stop the vehicle in time.
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The rhino hits the truck, falls down and then gets up again on the second attempt. It leaves the road quickly. Himanta said that rhinos are our special friends and we would not allow any infringement on their space.
According to the locals, the truck was en route to Guwahati from Jorhat. The incident occurred in Haldibari Animal Corridor. The vehicle was intercepted by the police in the Bagari area of the Nagaon district. The exact amount of the challan remains unknown but according to the sources, it was a heavy fine.
A few years ago, a similar incident from Assam became viral on the Internet. In the video, a Rhino was spotted on the highway and it was charging at other cars. A Rhinoceros was seen on the main highway and attacked the Ford EcoSport and other cars on the road. The video was taken from a vehicle that is following the animal on the road. When in such situations, it is important to make sure that you never get out of the vehicle and panic. Many vehicles can be seen dodging the animal and going too close to it. Wild animals can be unpredictable and can cause harm if you get too close.
Maintaining speed on animal corridors
All vehicles must go at a speed of 40 km/h while passing through animal corridors in India. However, the truck seems to be doing a higher speed. Most people speed through the corridors and only adheres to the speed limit when they spot a speed camera or a speed trap.
Wild animals are very calm and would not attack until provoked. One should never go dangerously close to wild animals as they are very unpredictable. If an animal feels threatened by humans, it will attack
This is why it is important to maintain distance from wild animals. Herds of wild elephants can often be spotted crossing the roads in the forests and national parks of India. One should just stop the vehicle and wait for the animals to cross the road without any disturbance.
Also, if the animal attacks the vehicle, the best thing is to stay calm and not threaten the animal. Threatening the animal can cause the situation to become aggravated.
In India, we have seen multiple animal attacks on humans, especially near the corridors that pass through the protected national parks and wild reserves. Many people try to stop and click pictures of animals while it is illegal to do such activities. A few weeks back, there was a reported instance of an elephant attacking a group of friends, when it was irked by the sound of the camera shutter.
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