Despite the signs and advice, tourists tend to fulfill wild and forest laws on the highway passing through the Bandipur. | Photo Credit: Ma Sriram
The incident in which tourist incorrect measures with a wild elephant in Bandipur almost stood his life last Sunday, brings to the growing threat of disruption of wild animals and forest laws of tourists and the general public in the popular Tiger Reserve.
It was not a one-off case, and tourists were manifested by such violations that traveled along two national highways intersecting Bandipur-NH 766, connecting GundLuPet with Wayanado in Kerala and NH 181, connecting GundLuPet with Ota in Tamil Nadu.
Either tourists tend to slow down or stop the vehicle to follow the animals on both sides of the road, while several performances from the vehicle and try to let go near the animal at selfie just to cause and encourage the attack.
After the Sunday incident, the Minister of Forests Eshwar B. Khandre ordered the ward to intensify his interventions against violations and the aim of a growing number of such incidents and increasingly risky behavior of tourists in Bandipur. He also warned tourists of feeding wild animals and ruthlessly drove on highways and excessively.
Although the forest department has a regular patrol unit along two highways cut through Bandipur, it only takes a few minutes for tourists to stop, get off and engage in such risky behavior before officials can intervene.
Although there are large markings that warn tourists against any such risky behavior, the temptation to publish exotic images in the background of wild animals for some of them, resulting in such incidents.
Wildlife activists say that such behavior is a regular event in Bandipur and tends to get out of hand, especially on weekends, when the blow to Tiger Reserve is high.
Even the forest department was made due to lack of adequate monitoring. Forest officials should be questioned for their inability to ensure that there is a reasonable patrol according to activists, especially if it is a recurring problem.
Attention was also alerted to the number of people who stopped on the road on Sunday to follow the developing drama of the elephant that gave persecution, which was attributed to the failure of the forest department in enforcing the law.
Repeated campaigns to raise awareness, certificates of warnings of fines and even earlier incidents that were widely reported in the media could not discourage part of the visitors.
Wild game experts include stricter monitoring through tracking cameras along vulnerable sections. However, the authorities of the National Park said there were no tracking cameras to ensure the monitoring of the transport movement at the end.
The strategic location of Bandipur, just 80 km from Mysur and a short ride from Oota and Wayanad, is a comfortable stop for tourists. Therefore, Tiger Reserve is among the “busiest” in terms of tourist traffic. However, its popularity will also prove to be its Bane, as high legs also led to an increase in the incidents of tourist misconduct.
Published – August 12, 2025 20:01
