Tiger safaris in Nagarahole and Bandipur wildlife reserves in Karnataka were suspended on Friday at the direction of the state forest minister in the wake of the third tiger attack-linked death in the last one month in the contiguous forest region located on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.
“The loss of three precious lives due to tiger attacks in the last one month on the edge of the Bandipur and Nagarhole forests in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts is deeply painful,” Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre said.
Khandre further said, “Farmers have expressed an opinion that wildlife is coming out of the forest due to the annoyance from safaris. Forest officials have stated that there is a shortage of personnel for operations to capture the tigers.”
“In this context, clear instructions have been given to close the safaris in Nagarhole and Bandipur from today until further orders and to stop trekking activities in areas where there is human-wildlife conflict,” the minister said in an official statement on Friday.
“All the officers and vehicle drivers assigned to the Bandipur and Nagarhole safaris should be deployed for the tiger capture operation. The Wildlife Department’s APCCF (Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests) and Tiger Project Directors have been asked to camp on the spot and take action to capture the tiger that is repeatedly attacking,” he added.
The directions by the minister to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden to stop safaris came following the death of a villager, Chowdaiah Nayak, 35, in a tiger attack near the Hale Heggodilu village in the Moleyur area of the Saragur taluk under Chamarajanagar district on Friday.
Following two previous incidents of tiger attacks in October, forest officials and elected representatives in the region had held meetings with farmers in an effort to prevent such incidents and to capture the suspected tiger.