Big cats at Bannerghatta Park get a break

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Being away from the relentless gaze of humans and their intrusive vehicles every alternate day will be a huge relief for the animals of the Bannerghatta Biological Park. The forest department is to initiate steps soon to cut down on human interaction with the zoo animals. The animals will now be divided into two groups. One group will be in the safari enclosure, while the other group will spend a day without being exposed to safari vans. At present, Tuesday is the only day when the animals do not interact with humans as the park is closed.

Located on the outskirts of south Bengaluru, the park is home to about 1,500 animals, including 15 elephants. Three safaris – tiger, lion, and sloth bear - attract large numbers of visitors to the park. Executive director of the park, Dr R. Raju, says the plan of dividing the animals into two groups was necessary because the number of safaris has increased.

“A minimum of 200 safari trips are conducted in a single day and the animals are burdened with frequent visits of vehicles. Hence a decision to divide the animals was taken and was approved by the forest minister C. P. Yogeshwara,” said Dr Raju. The animals can now take a break from being disturbed by people and vehicles every alternate day. There are 32 lions, 40 tigers and 105 sloth bears in the park.

“We are hoping to add new animal attractions such as giraffe and we are hoping to exchange some of our tigers with a foreign zoo and get new animals,” Dr Raju adds. Experts in captive wild animals say that the new plan will ease the pressure on the zoo animals. “As it is, there have been instances of animals in the safari areas being run over by speeding safari vehicles. They don’t get rest at all and don’t have the luxury of privacy within the enclosures. Animals need privacy but here they are always exposed to visitors. They get unnerved with so many pairs of eyes watching them the whole day. Dividing them in groups is a wise decision as far as animal welfare is concerned,” said Suparna Ganguly, trustee of Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA).