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A woman who was taking the non-AC bus safari at the Bannerughatta Biological Park (BBP) in Bengaluru was injured after a leopard clawed her.
According to a statement by Surya Sen A.V., Deputy Conservator of Forests and Executive Director, Bannerughatta Biological Park, the incident occurred around 1 p.m. on Thursday (November 13, 2025).
The injured woman has been identified as Vahitha Banu, 56. She sustained a minor injury to her hand when a leopard, while attempting to climb onto the bus, accidentally clawed her, Mr. Sen said in the press release.
“She was immediately taken to the nearest hospital for first aid and was examined for any further injuries and is fine with a minor injury,” the statement added.
Non-AC bus safaris have now been suspended indefinitely following the incident.
“All the safari drivers were warned about the previous incident of leopard attack and were instructed to take precautionary safety measures inside leopard safari. However, the authorities are reviewing the incident and non-AC bus safari will be stopped indefinitely till further communication and the buses will be assessed for complete safety during the downtime,” the release further stated.
The leopard safari at BBP is South India’s first and the country’s largest, spread across 20 hectares.
This is the second such incident four months. In August, a 12-year-old boy was clawed by a leopard at the BBP. 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.
Following the incident, Minister for Forest, Ecology, and Environment Eshwar Khandre had instructed officials to install mesh and designated photography holes on the windows of all safari vehicles. He had also issued instructions to take all necessary precautionary measures during the safari, and to give appropriate warnings to tourists, including printing a cautionary message on the safari tickets.
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