Mysuru: Tourists and wildlife photographers going on a safari at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve Forest are a happy lot following abundant sightings of wild animals including elephants and tigers.

Tourists, who went on a safari from Kakanakote Safari Centre in H.D. Kote taluk limits recently, enjoyed the sighting of a tiger, elephants, herd of deer and other wild animals and birds in separate spots and clicked photographs on their cameras and mobile phones.

There are eight ranges in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve Forest and there is a safari centre at Antharasanthe Range where there is more density of elephants and tigers. From here, there is an opportunity to go on a safari to Kabini backwaters where tigers were spotted in recent days.

The Reserve Forest is named after the stream ‘Nagarahole’ which literally means serpent stream (Nagara = Serpent, hole = stream) in Kannada. This Reserve Forest, a protected area, is located in both Mysuru and Kodagu districts with an area of 847.981 sq.km (core – 643.392 sq.km and buffer – 204.589 sq.km).

Eco-tourism activity is being carried out in Nagarahole Wildlife Range (Nagarahole tourism zone) and at D.B. Kuppe – Antharasanthe Wildlife Ranges (Sunkadakatte tourism zone).

Nagarahole was a part of Bandipur Tiger Reserve which was one among the nine Tiger Reserve launched under Project Tiger in 1973. In 2007, Nagarahole was declared as an independent tiger reserve.