Bengaluru: Wildlife lovers have received good news as the government has decided to resume full-scale safaris in Bandipur and Nagarhole. Action has been taken as per the report of a technical committee of experts and officials, and the green light has been given based on scientific assessment and transportation capacity. This decision will help in boosting local employment and economy. The Chief Minister’s Office has informed that instructions have been given to conduct jungle safaris in a controlled manner as per the recommendation of the committee.
Safaris was temporarily suspended in November 2025
Safaris in Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves in Karnataka were temporarily suspended in November 2025 due to human-wildlife conflict. After that, the government allowed the safari to resume with 50% capacity and a shorter duration from February 19, 2026. The technical committee formed after the temporary suspension of the safari gave an interim report, and a meeting was held on January 2 under the chairmanship of the CM to discuss this. Since there is a demand for the restart of the safari, it has been decided to resume the safari with 50%. The then Forest Minister Ishwar Khandre had said that a decision on the full permission would be taken after the full report is received.
In addition to allowing the use of only 50% of the vehicles that were used earlier, the safari duration in Bandipur was reduced from 8 hours to 5 hours, while in the first phase, only 6 hours were allowed in Sundakatte and 4 hours in Nagarhole. However, now the state government has taken a significant decision and has allowed full-fledged safaris as before, which has brought joy to wildlife lovers.