India’s first leopard safari to open for tourists in May

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: India’s first leopard safari will be thrown open to the public at Bannerghatta National Park in Bengaluru in the first week of May.

Zoo Authority of Karnataka Chairman L.R. Mahadevaswamy told News Trail on Monday that the final round of testing the behaviour of leopards vis-a-vis safari vehicles and tourists is scheduled to be held on Tuesday. Experts, senior officials of Bannerghatta National Park and others concerned will take part in the test before opening the safari enclosure for tourists in mesh guarded vehicles.

The leopard safari is coming up on 13 acres adjacent to the Lion and Tiger safaris. All necessary work on the high mesh wall, iron gates and protected enclosure for feeding staff have been completed. Tests are a must as leopards may jump on vehicles and bite the tyres or plastic bumpers of the safari vehicles.

During the initial tests, the leopards have behaved pretty well and did not try to attack the safari vehicles or bang on the glass windows with their paws.

There are no plans to have rescued leopards in the safari as around 40 leopards are already available. Rescuedleopards would pose problems for safari staff since they are not used to the sight of people from a close range.

There would be a single ticket for all three safaris- tiger, lion and leopard. Tourists would be taken on all three safaris in specially designed vehicles. The concept of a leopard safari was first mooted by Najundaswamy, chairman, Zoo Authority of Karnataka.