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Bengal Plans Tigress Relocation to Revive Buxa Tiger Population
Officials want to bring a tigress from Bihar to Buxa Tiger Reserve in north Bengal.
They hope she will help rebuild the tiger population there.
One of three tigresses in Valmiki National Park and Tiger Reserve will be chosen using scientific criteria.
Teams will safely tranquilise her and take her to Buxa in animal ambulances.
She will first stay in a large enclosure measuring 2.2 hectares.
Officials plan to release her into the forest in early October.
A radio collar and three monitoring teams will help track her movements.
The plan comes after Buxa lost most of its resident tigers, while efforts are also being made to move villages away from the reserve’s core area.
The Bengal government plans to move one tigress from Bihar’s Valmiki National Park and Tiger Reserve to Buxa Tiger Reserve.
Three teams from Buxa, Sundarbans and Dehradun will select, tranquilise and transport one of three identified tigresses.
The tigress will initially stay in a 2.2-hectare enclosure before a planned release into the wild in early October.
After release, teams will use a radio collar and coordinated monitoring to track the tigress and prevent her from crossing into Bhutan.
Buxa’s tiger population declined from about 25–26 in the early 1990s, while village relocation is under way to reduce pressure inside the reserve.
- Who
- The Bengal government, forest officials, teams from Buxa Tiger Reserve, Sundarbans Tiger Reserve and the Wildlife Institute of India, and one selected tigress.
- What
- A plan to relocate a tigress from Bihar to Buxa Tiger Reserve to help revive its tiger population.
- Where
- From Valmiki National Park and Tiger Reserve in West Champaran, Bihar, to Buxa Tiger Reserve in north Bengal.
- When
- Two Bengal teams are scheduled to leave on September 14, with release planned for early October.
- Why
- To help restore Buxa’s declining resident tiger population and reduce the effects of past habitat and village pressures.
Key facts
- Source forest
- Valmiki National Park and Tiger Reserve, West Champaran, Bihar
- Destination
- Buxa Tiger Reserve in north Bengal
- Candidates
- Three wild tigresses have been identified for possible relocation.
- Initial enclosure
- 2.2 hectares
- Planned release
- Early October
- Past Buxa population
- About 25–26 tigers in the early 1990s
- Monitoring
- The relocated tigress will receive a radio collar and be monitored by three teams.
Quotes
A forest department official
A forest department official explaining Buxa’s tiger population decline
“Buxa had a resident tiger population until the early 2000s. However, due to the high population density in villages inside the forest and the resulting biotic pressure, the resident tiger population started to dwindle.”
telegraphindia.com
“The teams will form a triangle around the tigress to monitor her. If she is seen trying to cross into the forests of Bhutan, the teams will prevent her from doing so.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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