Tiger reintroduction begins in India’s Buxa reserve with release of tigress
A three-year-old tigress transferred from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve has been released into West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve, beginning a phased effort to establish a viable tiger population. Officials will monitor the animal closely before a wider release, with two or three more tigers expected to follow.
A three-year-old tigress has been released into West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve, beginning a phased effort to restore a viable, self-sustaining tiger population there. The tigress, identified as T138, was transferred from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released on October 2 in the presence of Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Two or three more tigers are expected to be added to the reserve.
T138 will initially remain in an enclosure covering about 2.3 hectares while she acclimatises to her new surroundings. Officials plan to track her movement, health and behaviour using telemetry, camera traps and field monitoring before allowing her into the wider reserve. The stated aim is not simply to return individual animals to Buxa, but to create the conditions for a population that can breed and eventually survive independently, according to a statement cited by India’s Press Information Bureau.
Buxa was declared a tiger reserve in 1983 and covers 760.87 square kilometres in West Bengal’s Alipurduar subdivision. It is connected by forest corridors to Bhutan, Kochugaon forests, Manas Tiger Reserve and Jaldapara National Park. Habitat degradation and fragmentation, changing land use and reduced prey availability have weakened the ecological conditions needed to support resident tigers.
Buxa has not had a stable resident tiger population for several years, although tigers have occasionally been recorded there during winter. The National Tiger Conservation Authority began a tiger-reintroduction programme in 2018 after finding no tigers in Buxa, Dampa and Palamu reserves. Valmiki was selected as a source because officials considered its terrain similar to Buxa.
Tigers were not transferred from the Sundarbans because the mangrove habitat differs substantially from Buxa’s environment. India’s reintroduction efforts have produced differing results. Tigers were successfully returned to Sariska and Panna, but a report by the authority and the Wildlife Institute of India described adaptation and human-tiger conflict challenges in Satkosia.
Buxa is surrounded by villages and tea estates, and about 300 families have been persuaded to relocate as part of the conservation effort. Officials will therefore rely on monitoring and established reintroduction protocols as the programme proceeds.
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