Guwahati, Jun 18 (IANS): At least four animals, including three hog deer and one leopard, have been killed in Assam's Kaziranga National Park after they were hit by speeding cars on the national highway while trying to seek shelter in the highland areas to get some respite from the floods.

The forest officials said that three hog deer and one leopard were killed in the wee hours of Saturday.

It is common for animals in Kaziranga to cross the highway and move towards the hills during the floods at this time of the year.

It is alleged that the drivers often flout the rules imposed by the forest and transport departments for driving through the national park area.

Due to incessant rains in the past few days, flood waters have entered the national park area.

Kaziranga faces floods every year during the monsoon and many animals die either by drowning or after being hit by vehicles. Poachers also take advantage of such situations as animals usually tend to stray out of the park during this time.

To protect wild animals from road mishaps and to facilitate their free movement during floods, the authorities at the Kaziranga National Park had recently capped the maximum speed limit of vehicles inside the park at 40 km per hour. Vehicles flouting the norms would be fined Rs 5,000 per incident, over and above the amount to be paid for offence under the Motor Vehicles Act.

Also, following the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), six animal sensor cameras were recently installed in the park.