File picture of a tiger at the Nandankanan safari

Bhubaneswar, June 3: The white tiger safari that has been lying closed since April 30 after a wild big cat had been confined to the safari area at Nandankanan territory will be reopened to tourists from tomorrow.

“As the tiger is no more there, we have decided to reopen the safari from tomorrow. Its cleaning work has been over,” said deputy director of the zoo C.R. Mishra.

The closure of the safari, spread over 30 acres, had left many visitors disappointed as it was a major tourist attraction. The zoo also has lion, bear and herbivorous animal safaris.

Sources in the zoo said that after the closure of the white tiger safari, the number of visitors opting for the package of a combined tour of all the safaris had declined.

“The tiger safari is the most attractive among all the four safaris. Normally, the safari package attracts around 900 visitors everyday. But, with the closure of the white tiger safari, the number of visitors had come down to around 500,” said a zoo official.

The safari had to be closed as the behaviour of the wild tiger, kept within its confines by the zoo authorities, was unpredictable. The zoo has as many as eight white tigers, of which, one can see the best one while taking a ride through the safari, which was inaugurated on October 1, 1991.

The visitors have also been eagerly waiting for reopening of the white tiger safari. “It has been a month since the safari was closed. I have been waiting eagerly to have a close view of white tigers,” said Subham Panda, a school student from Chandrasekharpur.

The zoo authorities had to close the safari from visitor’s security point view after the six-year-old wild tiger entered the safari area on April 29 through the emergency gate. The authorities had kept other tigers at a safe distance from the animal.

The zoo officials are still trying to trace the tiger. They have found its pugmarks in the Nandankanan sanctuary area where he is believed to be moving about now.

The forest officials have also alerted villagers living on the periphery of the forest area around the zoo, which is part of the 4.37sqkm Nandankanan sanctuary.