Black bear to debut in Bengal Safari Park - Xmas date for new occupant

A Himalayan black bear at a cage in Bengal Safari Park 

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, SILIGURI, Ahead of the festivals and holidays, the state forest department will introduce Himalayan black bear safari at Bengal Safari Park, located 11km from here, of NH31 on way to Sevoke.

A source in the park confirmed on Sunday that the infrastructure and the animals were ready for the safari that was likely to start before Christmas.

State forest minister Binoy Krishna Burman, while speaking on the issue, said the date for starting the new safari at the park would be declared at a meeting scheduled for December 13.

"Earlier, we had decided to start the black bear safari at the park later this month and get it inaugurated by the chief minister as she would be visiting north Bengal then. But she has told us to start the safari on our own," Burman said.

The park has a separate enclosure for black bears, spread over an area of 20 hectares.

One male and one female black bear from Darjeeling's Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park were brought here on October 25.

Among them is an eight-year-old male bear Dhruba and a 17-year-old female named as Jennifer.

"Our infrastructure for the black bear safari is ready and the animals have also got acclimatised with the weather here. At the enclosure, six bears can be accommodated at a time," a forest officer said.

The park is spread over 200 hectares and was inaugurated in January, 2016.