Jalpaiguri, June 4: Time for animals in the reserve forests of the Dooars to enjoy their share of annual privacy.

From June 15 to September 15 reserve forests in the region will be closed for the monsoon. The department will also catch up on the pending repairs of many of the forest bungalows and lodges during this period. For tour operators, this is the time to take tourists to other locales like Lataguri and Suntalekhola.

Tour operators hope with the closing down of forests — one of the biggest attractions of the region — tourists would prefer the more laid-back locales on offer.

“Though the forests are closed, we have tea gardens, valleys and other hotspots here. We feel that the tourists will come here to enjoy the cool climate,” a private tour operator of Lataguri said. With private entrepreneurs building resorts and hotels in the Dooars belt, they are optimistic about a rise in the number of visitors.

Jalpaiguri divisional forest officer (wildlife) Rajiv Sharma said: “The forests, like every year will be closed this year too.”

According to experts, it is necessary to leave the animals and birds alone during the monsoon, which is the breeding season. Every year, the booking of forest bungalows and lodges remains closed for three months. Rivers, which pass through the forest, are in spate during the monsoon. With the waters flooding low-lying forest areas, animals often take shelter in the higher reaches, where most of the lodges are located.

“This is a problem. The animals also change their feeding and resting habits during this season,” a forest official said.