Leopard injures 12-year-old boy at Bengaluru’s Bannerghatta Biological Park

A 12-year-old boy was clawed by a leopard at the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) on Friday.

The boy, while travelling in a safari bus, had placed his hand in an accessible place near a window and was clawed by a leopard which had reportedly climbed on the bus.

“The boy was injured during a non-AC bus leopard safari trip at the BBP. The leopard, while climbing up the bus, clawed the boy’s hand which was placed in an accessible place,” said A.V. Surya Sen, Executive Director, BBP.

The boy was visiting the BBP along with his family.

“He was given first aid and was checked for other injuries. Precautions are taken for proper covering of all the windows using mesh, including camera slots, and strict instructions are given to drivers operating non-AC bus safaris,” Mr. Sen said.

He said that it was common for leopards to leap on the safari buses and grasp on the window mesh.

The leopard safari at BBP, which is South India’s first and the country’s largest, is spread across an area of 20 hectares.

Expressing shock over the incident, Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre has instructed officials to install mesh and designated photography holes on the windows of all safari vehicles.

Mr. Khandre instructed officials to take all necessary precautionary measures during the safari, and to give appropriate warnings to tourists, also printing a cautionary message on the safari tickets.