In the Rajaji Tiger Reserve of northern India, innovative wildlife underpasses beneath busy highways are enabling wild tigers, elephants, and other animals to safely navigate fragmented landscapes. These corridors come as the country's tiger population recovers, highlighting a vital balance between development and nature preservation.
- India hosts Asia’s longest wildlife underpasses and overpasses.
- Tiger corridors link key reserves, allowing safe movement.
- Conservation efforts include significant government funding.
What happened
India’s growing tiger population has created an urgent need to protect these big cats as they navigate landscapes increasingly intersected by highways and towns. In the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, for example, long wildlife underpasses beneath National Highway 72 allow tigers, elephants, and other species to cross safely, avoiding deadly traffic. These structures are part of a broader national effort to create safe wildlife corridors connecting core tiger habitats.
Since 2017, India has built the world’s ten largest wildlife crossings, investing heavily in overpasses and underpasses designed specifically for animal movement. This infrastructure advances alongside India’s rapid economic growth and expanding transportation networks, balancing development with conservation through scientifically informed mitigation measures.
Why it feels good
The success of these wildlife corridors offers hope for long-term coexistence between human infrastructure and wildlife, particularly for endangered species like Bengal tigers. Corridors help maintain genetic diversity by allowing tigers to move between fragmented forest patches safely, reducing the risk of inbreeding and local extinctions.
Moreover, these conservation strategies demonstrate the country’s commitment to preserving its natural heritage amid urbanization pressures. By dedicating substantial resources to wildlife mitigation, India positions itself globally as a leader in innovative environmental stewardship within a developing economy.
What to enjoy or watch next
Visitors to the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and other protected areas can look forward to witnessing thriving tiger populations aided by thoughtful design that respects animal behavior. The continued expansion of wildlife crossings across India’s four critical tiger landscapes will be important to watch as models for combining ecological conservation with infrastructure development.
Future efforts may focus on further improving connectivity among habitats and monitoring how other species benefit from these corridors. This evolving approach offers inspiring lessons for countries worldwide working to grant land and freedom back to nature’s most iconic creatures.