KOTA: A nine-year-old sloth bear was killed after being hit by a speeding train on a track passing through the Mukundra Hills Tiger Reserve here, an official said today.
The body of the bear was disposed of after post-mortem was conduced today, said S R Yadav, Deputy Conservator of Forest.
The incident took place at 10 pm yesterday following which a team of the forest department reached the spot where they found the animal bleeding profusely, he said.
Wildlife activists held the railways responsible for the incident.
Brajesh Vijayvergya, a wildlife activist in Kota, said a 7-km stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai line falls under the reserve and threat to life looms large over animals.
"Proposals for a fencing of the Delhi-Mumbai railway track have been forwarded several times to the railways but they have been gathering dust," Vijayvergya said.
Rish Raj Sharma, a wildlife research scholar, said three tigers, proposed to be shifted to the reserve from the Ranthambore National Park by the end of this year, are also likely to face the same threat if no sincere action is taken for their safety.