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Indian national park resumes elephant safaris after COVID shutdown
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Elephants at the Kaziranga National Park, India. (Shutterstock/NileshShah)
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lephant safaris have resumed at a famous national park in India's northeastern state of Assam, seven months after being forced to shut by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kaziranga National Park, a World Heritage Site, reopened on Oct. 21, part of a wider easing of lockdown restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus.
From Nov. 1, 37 tourists at a time are allowed to move around the park on the elephants while adhering strictly to COVID-19 safety protocols.
Forest officials, along with elephant trainers who are known locally as 'mahouts', performed a small ceremony on Sunday before the resumption of the safaris.
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A local priest, in a Hindu blessing, smeared vermillion on the forehead of the elephants as they prepared to receive their first riders after a long gap.
The first batch of tourists then enjoyed a one-hour ride through the forest, which is best known for the endangered one-horned Indian rhinoceros and is also home to a significant population of tigers, bison, swamp deer and leopards.
India on Monday reported 46,441 new COVID-19 infections, federal health data showed, less than half of a peak hit in September.
