Kaziranga, April 26: The elephant safari and the jeep safari at Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) will both be off-limits to tourist as of May 2023, according to the Assam Forest Department. A notification from the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division, Kaziranga National Park, made this statement.
Usually, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is off limits to visitors prior to the start of the monsoon season, i.e., May. The park is closed during the wet season and reopens as soon as the water recedes from the interior and outlying areas.
Eastern Assam Wildlife Divisional Forest Officer Ramesh Gogoi stated that the elephant safari will close on May 1 and the jeep safari will close on May 16 respectively.
Repairing deteriorated roads and wooden bridges is another task the park administration must complete before the upcoming visitor season. As the Brahmaputra River, which runs parallel to the park, surges with floodwaters during torrential rains in the Upper Assam regions and the bordering Arunachal Pradesh, about 90% of the park’s territory is submerged.
Also Read: Prices of essential food items soar, burdening common people in Guwahati
During the calamity, the forest guards must endure a terrifying period as all of the anti-poaching camps are inundated.
Additionally, during floods, guards need to remain particularly attentive around-the-clock since poachers may take advantage of the conditions or animals may be crushed by moving vehicles as they attempt to cross National Highway 37 and seek refuge in the neighbouring Karbi Anglong hills.
The Asian Wild Buffalo, Elephant, Tiger, Rhinoceros, and Swamp Deer are known as the “Big Five” and Kaziranga is home to all five of them.
The national park is home to the world’s highest number of one-horned rhinos—2,613—according to the 2022 rhino census. Additionally, it has India’s highest Royal Bengal Tiger population density.
After being closed to tourists for almost five months, the KNPTR reopens on October 1 or 2 for the upcoming tourist season.
