Relocated from Bengal to Assam, tigress being brought back after tranquilisation

The tigress which was relocated from Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) to Assam in late October, weeks after being moved from a reserve in Bihar, was tranquilised on Tuesday to being her back to BTR, forest department officials said.

The three-year-old tigress was brought to BTR from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve on October 2 and she left BTR to enter Assam on October 23. Her movements were caught on trail cameras.

“The tigress was tranquilised outside a village near the Raimona National Park. She is being brought to BTR right now,” a BTR officer said around 8 pm on Tuesday, requesting anonymity.

Forest officials said that after entering Assam, the tigress crossed the Sankosh river and ventured 25–30km deep inside the Raimona National Park to look for her own territory.

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The big cat was finally tracked down to Rajendrapur village and the plan to bring her back to BTR was executed around 5pm on Tuesday.

West Bengal and Assam forest department officials along with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) had been closely monitoring the movements of the tigress since October 23. They allowed her to follow her instincts before deciding to tranquillise her and bring her back.

The tigress was brought to the Hasimara Air Force Base in an Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and released in Buxa during the National Wildlife Week. Opened in 1983, BTR did not have a single tiger until then although tigers were found in the region earlier.

Officials said the state’s chief wildlife warden will decide when to release the tigress again in BTR.