Leopard attempts to board minibus at Bengaluru's biological park, video goes viral

NEW DELHI: A video capturing a leopard's attempt to climb onto a safari minibus at Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) on Sunday evening has gone viral on social media.

The footage shows the leopard leaping at the tourist bus, grasping the mesh, and trying to enter the vehicle, leaving tourists stunned. However, BBP officials maintain that this incident is a common occurrence during safaris when a curious animal approaches a tourist vehicle.
Despite the potential danger posed by the leopard's presence, park authorities confirmed that no one was harmed during the incident.
According to AV Surya Sen, deputy conservator of forest at BBP, leopards are inquisitive animals, and they sometimes become agitated upon seeing tourist vehicles, resulting in such reactions.
"It is the normal behaviour of all the safari animals. They often try to chase cars, jeeps, and vans. We have witnessed bears and tigers also attempting to climb up tourist vehicles. They generally exhibit this behaviour during morning hours or late evenings when they are active," Sen said.
The officials emphasise that such behavior demonstrates the animals' activeness and dispels the misconception that they are sedated.
"Such activities confirm that the animals are active and live their normal lives. We have come across some social media comments claiming that all animals in our park are sedated, which is beyond compre-hension. In reality, BBP is the place where people can visit to have a lifetime experience as the animals, including big cats, are in their full glory," Sen added.
BBP officials assured that even if animals attempt to climb tourist vehicles, there is no reason for alarm as the vehicles used for safaris are designed with these incidents in mind. Non-air-conditioned tourist vehicles are protected with metal mesh, while air-conditioned vehicles are equipped with protective glass. However, tourists and park visitors are expected to adhere to basic protocols and safety measures.
"People should be sensitive. They should keep their hands and heads away from the mesh in non-AC vehicles. These generalinstructions are given to tourists and visitors before every safari trip," a BBP official stated.
The much-awaited leopard safari with 19 leopards was inaugurated by Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar B Khandre on June 26.
In accordance with the Central Zoo Authority guidelines, only hand-reared and zoo-born leopards are included in the safari experience. "We will soon be adding four or five more leopards that are already in training. We are putting only hand-reared and rescued leopards on safari to ensure public safety," Sen concluded.