Countrys first leopard safari in Bannerghatta

BANGALORE: India’s first Leopard safari will come up at Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) near Bangalore.Preparations are on to this effect, including drawings and sketches of the safari.On an average, around 50- 60 leopards are killed in Karnataka every year due to man-animal conflict. The big cats stray into villages in search of food due to shrinking forest cover in the state.So, naturally people tend to injure or kill them without understanding its implications on nature. Keeping this in mind, the leopard safari is being planned at BBP, said Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK) chairman M Nanjundaswamy.He told Express it will be the first of its kind in India as no other s t a t e h a s thought of having a safari exclusively for leopards and in all probability the safari is likely to be a reality in the next year or two.A preliminary discussion was held in the ZAK’s recent meeting. The BBP has a lot of space and the same would be used t o have t h e leopard safari. Presently, some tigers and lions, which were rescued from circus companies, are housed in the BBP rescue centre as per directions of the Supreme Court. BBP authorities are providing shelter and food to these animals. Once they die, the rescue centre would be closed permanently. The existing infrastructure would be utilised to have the safari. “We have plans to construct it on 50 acres of forest land inside the BBP,” he said.Nanjundaswamy said leopards are fast becoming extinct due to increasing man-animal conflict. People kill them before the Forest Department officials can reach the spot.The increased human activities near forests have also forced leopards to stray into villages in search of food. These big cats require large space to hunt.When that is unavailable, they enter villages. “There is no paucity of funds as the ZAK has sufficient funds to open the safari in BBP,” he added.