Born to be Wild....!!. Review on Bannerghatta National Park

Diwali hols approaching... plan was to be in Bangalore itself.... needed some places to visit, so as to keep us from feelin bored at home..... what do we do??? Looked up Mouthshut.com for some places in and around Banaglore.. Shortlisted a couple ... Nandi Hills, Bannerghatta National Park.. hmm... not bad.. so we set off.

Reached the place about 10 AM, even though we didnt know the way as such. A lill bit of askin around, and we were there. it being the holiday period, there were quite a few people waiting to get in. One look at the place from outside, and the first thing that strikes you is a sign putting up animals for adoption. Venture to the gates, and u c the prices put up before you. There are options available such as a safari ride, visit to the zoo, or a mix of both. 110 Rupees and u qualify for the safari ride, as well as the zoo visit.

The SAFARI :

U are made to wait in between these iron railings, as u wud c in some really old theatres, wherein u wait for the tickets. Soon a Mazda minibus arrives, and u c the rush as the crowd descends upon it. It has always baffled me as to why we indians are always in a hurry.... its obvious that the bus wud take only a destined number of people, and everyone holding a ticket wud be accounted for..!! Still u have ppl pushing and shoving to perch themselves inside.

The staff are pretty courteous, as they must have seen this innumerous times before... and they wait patiently while everyone settles down. A quick count, and we are off. The bus is protected with grills on the windows to prevent us from getting 'Up,Close and Personal' with the animals. We start out, and among the first animals we come across are the wild oxes and deers. Soon, the ride gets bouncy, and we enter the territory of the wild. There are seperate enclosed areas for bears, lions, tigers and so on.

While I did read in some of the reviews that the staff dont wait for us to click snaps, my experience was totally the opposite. When we came across various beasts, the staff as well as the bus driver were really patient and waited till everyone clicked snaps... as many as they wanted, and from various angles too. The guide who was with us also gave up his seat in front of the bus so as to oblige a fellow tourist to click snaps from an unobstructed angle.

Bears, lions and tigers... they form the majority of wildlife here at the park. We even had the experience of watching two bears involved in a struggle of some sort (Some female involved here???!! :P). Spotted about 4-5 bears, and two among them being really big ones. Among the tiger population, there were white tigers too... which gave a sporting roar upon being spied upon by so many people. There were lions too, lazing about in the sunshine, though we dint spot any of the maned variety.

The ZOO :

After the experience of the safari, the visit to the zoo seemed pretty mundane. There were many from the avian variety, as well as some more animals from the wild such as leoprads, hyeanas and so on. Snakes and crocodiles too were in abundance,. but by then fatigue was begining to take its toll. Loitered about viewing the crocodile islands, as well as the birds all busy with their respective lives. Interestingly, there were many signs displaying that these animals were adopted by some individual or the other, and in most cases were by the fairer sex.

The cages were more or less neatly maintained, and a point to make is that all the animals actually obliged the spectators with some pose or the other. I guess thats what they call SHOWLIFE.

I guess even celebs dont get to be in the spotlight as much as these creatures do.

Memories cherished, both in the heart, as well as digitally, we took the trip home.. a day reasonably well-spent.

P.S. : Will post some pics of animal snaps we had taken soon . Meanwhile, do send in ur comments, as well as ratings.