No jaywalking - This for Indian Elephants

The government is going to make it compulsory for herds in the wild to use underpasses and overbridges rather than walk across railway tracks that snake through the Dooars forests.

Talk of a wild idea.

It's come from not one but two heads — the forest and the railways ministries. None of the officials paused to ask themselves how they would discipline elephants when the inspired human race prefers to run through traffic - risking life, limb and a fine - rather than take an underpass or pedestrian bridge.

"This is a bizarre idea. If elephants had that wit, they would have avoided train accidents so far. These animals use a conventional corridor, which they have been using for centuries, and will keep using. Even if overpasses or underpasses are constructed, they will still follow their ancestors' memory. We have to understand that it is we who have encroached on their territory," said Animesh Basu, coordinator of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/No-jaywalking-govt-to-create-an...