Full and half-day tiger safari stopped in 5 zones of Ranthambore National Park

Jaipur: Ranthambore National Park authorities have stopped full and half-day tiger safari in five of the 10 tourist zones in this popular tiger reserve of Sawaimadhopur.

The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Arvind Tomar in Jaipur recently.  The full and half-day tiger safari will continue to be allowed in five other zones. Sources said that the five zones where the full and half-day tiger safari was stopped are home to the maximum number of Ranthambore tigers. Many tigers that had made these zones their territory were forced to move out due to the constant movement of vehicles and noise caused by them.

“Full and half-day tiger safari will no longer be allowed in tourists zones from number 1 to number 5. They will be allowed only in zones 6 -10,” a senior forest department official said.

The full and half-day safari had been launched in Ranthambore national park in 2016. It was meant for documentary and film makers. But it was later thrown open for tourists. The park generated revenue of about Rs 4 crore each in 2017-18 and 2018-19 from full and half-day tiger safari.

The park is already reeling under the pressure of increasing tourist footfall. Over 13,400 tourists visited the park in 2018-19 alone, according to the data provided by the park authorities. The number was 16,221 in 2017-18 and 13,115 in 2016-17. About 2700 vehicles are currently used for taking tourists on tiger safari in shifts.