(Mais que font les défenseurs des animaux ? note de rené)

This Indian state is planning its first lion safari (and it's not Gujarat) (Inde)

Kolkata News   Hindustan Times

Updated on Nov 05, 2022 07:01 PM IST

West Bengal forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick said the state already has a tiger safari in north Bengal.

A senior official of the West Bengal zoo authority said they are going to approach the Central Zoo Authority by the end of November for the permission for the lion safari. (Representative Image)

The Bengal forest department is planning to come up with the state’s first lion safari in north Bengal, according to the state’s forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick.

“We already have a tiger safari in north Bengal. Now we are planning to launch a lion safari in north Bengal. This would be the state’s first lion safari,” the minister said on Saturday.

The North Bengal Wild Animals Park at Siliguri in north Bengal was launched in 2016 and the park now has a tiger safari with around 11 tigers and a herbivore safari. The tiger safari spreads over 20 hectares.

“The master plan for the lion safari has already bene drawn up. We are going to approach the Central Zoo Authority for the permission by the end of this month,” said a senior official of the state zoo authority.

The state initially wants to bring in at least two -pairs of lions and lionesses to be introduced in the safari. The safari will spread over around 20 hectares. Specially designed 20-seater mini-buses will go inside the park with tourists.

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“We will approach the central zoo authority and once we get the permission, we will try to bring in the lions from other zoos on animal exchange program. For that we would have to spare a few animals, which we have in excess in our park”, said a senior official of the North Bengal Wild Animals Park.

As of now the tiger safari has around 11 tigers. Since 2019, eleven tiger cubs were born at the park, though two of them died shortly after birth because of health ailments.

“We are also trying to come up with a tiger breeding and conservation centre inside the park. A proposal in this regard will also be sent to the CZA soon,” said the official.

The forest department is also is working on plans to reintroduce tigers in the Buxa Tiger Reserve of at Alipurduar district in north Bengal and one-horn rhino at Patlakhawa in the neighbouring Cooch Behar district.