The Bengal Safari Park near here witnessed a record footfall on Sunday as over 5,500 visitors arrived there to celebrate New Year’s Day.

“Today, 5,565 people visited the park and tickets worth Rs 6.7 lakh were sold. Since 2017 when the park was opened, this is the highest ever footfall that has been recorded here,” said Kamal Sarkar, the park’s director.

Also known as the North Bengal Wild Animals’ Park, it is a one-of-its-kind facility in the state where visitors can see wild animals and birds in open enclosures. Located on the northeastern outskirts of Siliguri, the park emerged as a popular destination for tourists and local people in the past five years.

Sources said a similar crowd had swarmed into the park last week on Christmas Eve. “On December 25, the total number of visitors was 3,700 and tickets worth Rs 5.4 lakh were sold,” said a source.

The park authorities have decided to keep the facility open for visitors even on Monday because of the surge in footfall these days.

“The park remains closed for visitors on Mondays as we need to carry out certain works in the enclosures and other areas. However, considering the recent rush, we have decided to keep it open on Mondays, starting from tomorrow, for the next few weeks,” said the director.

Spread over an area of 297 hectares on the fringes of the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, the park has wild animals like royal Bengal tiger, rhino, Himalayan black bear, leopard, fishing cats, deer and monkeys.

Also, there is an enclosure of “gharial” (fish-eating crocodile) and an open aviary of birds.

“We are in the process of introducing other animals like lions, zebras and giraffes at the park soon,” an official said.