Bihar tigress moves between Assam villages, Bengal weighs tranquilising it

A Bihar tigress relocated to West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve as part of the state’s first tiger relocation project has strayed across state lines into Assam and shown no signs of returning, prompting the forest departments of the two states to step up efforts to track it.

Over the past six days, the three-year-old tigress, T-138, has been tracked near forest villages in Assam, where it has killed three domesticated pigs and four piglets. It later crossed a river and moved towards another village.

With the animal moving closer to human settlements, the Bengal Forest Department is considering tranquilising and retrieving it as a last resort, though no final decision has been taken.

The task has been complicated by gaps in the radio-collar signal. At one point, the signal went missing for nearly 24 hours before becoming active again. “We are aware of its location. I will personally visit Assam tomorrow and hold a meeting with officials of both states. No decision has been taken yet on tranquilising it and bringing it back. But our teams are ready. We are tracking the tigress,” state Forest Minister Manoj Oraon told The Indian Express.

The radio-tracking system stopped transmitting on Thursday, following which teams from forest departments of Bengal and Assam began scanning the area. Fresh signals were received on Friday afternoon, helping officials locate the animal.

“Sometimes this happens. When the animal is in water or in certain forest zones, the signal is not received. But we know its location,” Oraon said.

According to sources in Raimona National Park, the tigress was initially located near Hatigarh forest village. “The tigress initially hunted domesticated pigs but could not eat them as villagers were alerted. We have informed local residents and are conducting awareness campaigns and public announcements. Villagers have been advised not to visit the area where the tigress is located and to stay indoors after dark,” a Raimona National Park official said.

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The tigress later moved from Hatigarh to Narayanpur village, around 30 km away.

“It has moved to Narayanpur village in the Gossaigaon subdivision of Kokrajhar district from Hatigarh. It crossed the Janali river in the Gurufela area and is now inside a bamboo grove near the village. Teams from both Bengal and Assam are tracking it,” a senior Raimona National Park official said.

The relocation of T-138 to Buxa Tiger Reserve, a protected forest spanning around 760 sq km in Alipurduar district, was part of a larger plan to revive the tiger population in the region.

Historically an important tiger habitat in north Bengal, Buxa has seen habitat degradation, changes in land use and a decline in prey availability, affecting its ability to sustain a resident tiger population, the Union Environment Ministry had said in a statement. The tigress’s release was intended to mark the beginning of a phased recovery programme.

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The tigress was tranquilised and caged at the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar before being flown to Hasimara Air Force Station in Alipurduar on September 30. It was then taken to the Rajabhatkhawa forest area under Buxa Tiger Reserve.