Spatiotemporal patterns of wildlife road mortality in the Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan

Abstract

Abstract The current study investigated the impact of roads on native wildlife fauna in Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan. By conducting driven transects over a period of 24 months (March 2012–February 2014), we identified 131 carcasses resulting from wildlife-vehicle collisions or “road kill”, comprising 18 vertebrate species from seven different orders. The Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus; Linnaeus, 1758) was the most common road kill (37.4%), followed by the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctatus; Hodgson, 1836; 9.9%) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes; Linnaeus, 1758; 8.4%). Road kill incidences included both nocturnal (55.6%) and diurnal species (44.5%). The maximum number of road kills were encountered in the Rawalpindi district area (46.6%), followed by Chakwal (36.6%), Jhelum (8.4%) and Attock (8.4%). The majority of road kills occurred on paved roads (93.9%; 0.009 road kill/km) with significantly fewer occurrences on unpaved roads (6.1%; 0.004 road kill/km). Similarly, 77% (0.009/km) of the road kills were found adjacent to protected areas. The majority of road kills (33%) occurred during the spring (February–April) but less in summer (May–July) and winter (November–January) (19.8% for both). The study provides important data on road mortality of wildlife species in the region bordering protected areas in the Pothwar Plateau, Pakistan, to initiate management and conservation strategies.