Safari operations were suspended in the two tiger reserves from November 7 | Photo credit: SRIRAM MA
Safari operations in the Bandipur and Nagarahole tiger reserves, which were suspended for more than 100 days following increasing tiger attacks, will resume again.
Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre said safari operations in Bandipur and Nagarhole Tiger Reserves would be resumed in a phased manner after an expert committee submitted an interim report on Wednesday.
The Karnataka State Wildlife Board had in January recommended setting up an expert committee to examine the carrying capacity of safari vehicles in the two tiger reserves.
Expert committee
An expert committee headed by the Additional Chief Conservator of Forests comprising officials of the Forest Department, a scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (WII) and a professor from the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal (IIFM) was formed.
“Safari operations have been suspended in the two tiger reserves since November 7. Based on the report submitted by the expert committee, we have decided to lift the ban. We will resume safari operations by reducing the number of trips. Earlier, the safari was operating for eight hours a day, which has been reduced to five hours,” Mr. Khandre said.
Similarly, at Sunkadakatte, safari will be allowed only for six hours and at Nagarahole, it will be allowed only for four hours in the first phase.
In the first phase
“During the first phase, only 50% of the safari vehicles that were in operation before November 7 will be operated; the remaining vehicles and staff will be used to increase patrolling near villages around forest areas to prevent wild animals from entering human settlements,” he said.
He added that all safari vehicles will be equipped with GPS tracking systems and dashboard cameras in the next two months to monitor the movement of the vehicles and ensure that the safari vehicles are not operated beyond the stipulated time.
“The total area of Bandipur Tiger Reserve is 1,036 km2, of which only 8% (about 80 km²) is the tourist zone. Similarly, the total area of Nagarahole is 844 km² and the eco-tourism zone covers only 63 km² (7.5%). Scientists have not confirmed that there is any evidence of forest scientific experts. Human settlements due to safari operations,” he added.
Mr. Khandre also said that one-third of the total revenue generated from eco-tourism will be used for skill development of communities living near forest areas, cultivation of fodder for livestock and environmental development works.
Personal commitment
“Safari will be resumed only after we ensure that adequate personnel are deployed in sensitive areas to prevent human-wildlife conflict,” Mr Khandre said.
He also said that all tiger trapping operations were carried out as per standard operating procedures approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Published – 18 Feb 2026 20:43 IST