Safari Trip Cut Short in Bandipur, Nagarahole; Forest Officials Question Move
Pointing at Bandipur National Park, a senior forest official told Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday “One of the safari route covers Bandipur range and Gopalaswamy range and in no way connected with Hediyala or the Omkar ranges which often report straying of wild animals such as tigers/leopards/elephants.”
Bengaluru: Wildlife enthusiasts planning late evening safaris in Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves will have to rethink their plans after Minister for Forests and Environment Eshwar Khandre directed forest officials to curtail one safari trip—particularly those held after 6 p.m.—in an effort to mitigate the straying of wild animals out of the reserves. The order came into effect on Tuesday.
The Minister said he had received several complaints from farmer leaders claiming that late evening safaris posed a threat to humans, as vehicle headlights tend to startle wild animals, driving them out of the reserves and escalating instances of man–animal conflict.
The decision follows the recent incident in which a farmer was mauled by a tiger on the periphery of the Nugu Wildlife Range in Bandipur National Park.
However, the directive has drawn criticism from forest officials, who questioned its rationale. “Man–animal conflicts usually occur in the border villages, particularly in the Hediyala and Omkara ranges,” said an official from Bandipur National Park. “The safari routes, on the other hand, are confined to the core zones of the park.”
A senior forest official told Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday, “One of the safari routes covers the Bandipur and Gopalaswamy ranges, which are in no way connected with Hediyala or Omkara ranges where wild animal straying is reported frequently.”
A wildlife activist alleged that the move was politically motivated, aimed at appeasing farmer leaders and preventing them from provoking villagers into taking drastic measures against wild animals. Bandipur forest personnel, however, accused certain farmer leaders of using “blackmail tactics” against them by making unreasonable demands—such as calling for a ban on safaris.
In Bandipur, the Forest Department conducts safaris using its own buses and jeeps. Morning safaris run from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., while evening safaris are held from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
