Vijayanagara: For the first time in the state, the Karnataka Zoo Authority (KSA) is all set to introduce the concept of night safaris in the forests.
The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park in Kamalapura or popularly known as Hampi Zoo in Vijayanagara District, the concept of ‘Night Safari’ is being implemented here for the first time in the State, said Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Karnataka Zoo Authority, Mysuru, Member Secretary Ravi B. P. during his visit to the Zoo.
The temperature is very high in the areas around Hosapete and Hampi. Therefore, the Member Secretary of the Central Zoo Authority has asked if a night safari can be conducted at the zoo. The Member Secretary is also preparing guidelines for the same. However, a national level workshop has to be held in Hampi before that, he said.
If implemented, Hampi will be the first zoo in the State to start a night safari. A proposal in this regard has also been submitted. A national level workshop will be held in Hampi in the coming days. He added that special permission will be obtained to start the night safari later. The construction of the only Hampi Zoo that can do safari in the whole of Kalyana Karnataka began in 2013 and was completed in 2017. Initially, it was the only zoo in the whole of North Karnataka with tigers, lions and leopards.
Nine major zoos in the state earned Rs. 107 Crore in the last financial year. However, the expenditure is much more than this. Mysuru and Bannerghatta Zoos are the only self-sufficient zoos in the entire country. Around 65 Lakh people had visited the zoos in the state last year.