MHOW (MP): The hyena population in forests adjoining Mhow district in Madhya Pradesh is declining fast as they are increasingly falling prey to road mishaps.
Mhow, Badgonda, Choral and Manpur have a 20-km thick forest cover and hyenas with other animals like panther, wild boars, jackals and deer were once found in plenty in these places.
Mhow sub-divisional officer (forest), O P Sharma said that in the past, the hyenas were in plenty in this region but now its number has declined to 30 or 35.
Earlier, the number of hyenas in the region was 50, Sharma said adding that most of the hyenas died in road accidents.
Some of them also died while they were undergoing treatment because of injuries, he added.
Though the injuries were similar to that of bullet wounds, it could not be said that poachers were responsible for it, Sharma said.
In fact, hyena is known as scavenging animal because it cleans the environment by eating the carcasses.
Most of the deaths have occurred on the 22 km stretch between Pithampur and Gujri on the Rau-Khalghat four-lane road and also on the Agra-Bombay highway, he said.
The poachers do not kill hyenas but many of them fell prey to the bullets of hunters who mistook them for other animals, Sharma said.
Besides, when the hyenas come out of the forest for prey or for water, they are run over by vehicles, he said.
As the ecological balance of the entire region is disturbed, there is not enough food for the survival of hyenas.
Mhow, Badgonda, Choral and Manpur have a 20-km thick forest cover and hyenas with other animals like panther, wild boars, jackals and deer were once found in plenty in these places.
Mhow sub-divisional officer (forest), O P Sharma said that in the past, the hyenas were in plenty in this region but now its number has declined to 30 or 35.
Earlier, the number of hyenas in the region was 50, Sharma said adding that most of the hyenas died in road accidents.
Some of them also died while they were undergoing treatment because of injuries, he added.
Though the injuries were similar to that of bullet wounds, it could not be said that poachers were responsible for it, Sharma said.
In fact, hyena is known as scavenging animal because it cleans the environment by eating the carcasses.
Most of the deaths have occurred on the 22 km stretch between Pithampur and Gujri on the Rau-Khalghat four-lane road and also on the Agra-Bombay highway, he said.
The poachers do not kill hyenas but many of them fell prey to the bullets of hunters who mistook them for other animals, Sharma said.
Besides, when the hyenas come out of the forest for prey or for water, they are run over by vehicles, he said.
As the ecological balance of the entire region is disturbed, there is not enough food for the survival of hyenas.