West Bengal is preparing for the state’s first lion safari, according to the state’s forest minister Jyotipriya Mallick.
As North Bengal already has a tiger safari, and now they are planning to launch a lion safari here, which would be also the state’s first lion safari.
The North Bengal Wild Animals Park at Siliguri in north Bengal was launched in 2016 and the park now boasts 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 been drawn up and the authority going to approach the Central Zoo Authority for permission by the end of this month, as per the reports.
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.
The forest department is also working on plans to reintroduce tigers in the Buxa Tiger Reserve of Alipurduar district in north Bengal and a one-horn rhino at Patlakhawa in the neighboring Cooch Behar district.
