Bannerghatta zoo entry fee to be hiked by Rs 30 from January 1

The Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK) has hiked the entry fee to the Bannerghatta zoo and safari by Rs 30 per person across all slabs from January 1.

The authorities, who last hiked the fees by Rs 20 in December 2019, said the financial burden due to the pandemic-induced economic stress and spiraling cost of feeding animals have forced them to hike the fares again.

“The ZAK governing council that met recently has revised the fees keeping in mind the increasing fuel, feeding costs, and establishment and other recurring expenses,” explained an official.

The Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) became fully operational with Covid guidelines and was steadily moving towards self-sustenance as visitors’ numbers picked up every day. Crowd on the zoo’s campus during Christmas holidays nearly touched the pre-pandemic numbers.'

“We had close to 20,000 visitors during the weekends before the pandemic. On this Christmas weekend, we had 18,000 visitors,” a senior BBP official said.

The increasing numbers are proving to be insufficient for park authorities to meet spiraling expenses.

Request for grants

Officials reportedly wrote to the state government seeking grants.

“We were managing the expenses with everyday gate collections and whatever we saved in the last few months. But if we exhaust all that we have saved, it will affect us in the future,” the officer said.

Currently, the BBP has about 2,300 animals belonging to 103 species in a naturalistic environment and the best of veterinary care.

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