Buxa Tiger Reintroduction Begins with Release of Tigress T138
A three-year-old tigress, T138, has been released into Buxa Tiger Reserve, marking West Bengal's first tiger reintroduction programme.
In a historic milestone for wildlife conservation in West Bengal, a three-year-old tigress has been released into the core zone of the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR). This event marks the commencement of the state's very first tiger reintroduction programme, signaling a major victory for ecological restoration in the region.
A Historic Release for Buxa
The tigress, identified as T138, was brought from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve to bolster the predator population in Buxa. The release was performed jointly by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav. The ceremony coincided with the nationwide launch of National Wildlife Week.
Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav noted that the project was inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for landscape conservation and species protection. He credited the success to the collaborative efforts of the current state government, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
Decades of Ecological Restoration
While the release marks a new chapter, the journey to bring tigers back to Buxa has been a long-standing scientific endeavor. Historically, Buxa was a vital tiger landscape in North Bengal, declared a Tiger Reserve in 1983. However, habitat degradation, fragmentation, and a decline in prey availability had previously led to the disappearance of a stable resident tiger population.
The Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project, initiated by the West Bengal government with support from the NTCA and WII, has been working since 2018 to rebuild the ecological foundation of the reserve. Key achievements of this sustained effort include:
- Prey Base Augmentation: More than 800 chital have been released into the reserve to ensure a sufficient food supply for the tigers.
- Habitat Restoration: Approximately 380 hectares of grassland have been restored or converted over the last eight years.
- Village Relocation: Two villages were voluntarily relocated to secure the core habitat and reduce human-wildlife conflict.
Political and Scientific Collaboration
During the announcement, Minister Yadav highlighted the importance of scientific assessment and capacity building in the recovery process. He mentioned that conservation experts, naturalists, and scientists from across the country were commissioned to study why the species had vanished and to confirm that the habitat was once again capable of sustaining tigers.
The Minister also expressed gratitude to Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary for the cooperation required to transfer T138 from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve. He emphasized that the current administration's swift action has fulfilled a significant promise to restore the tiger population to this vital ecological corridor, which connects the forests of Bhutan and Assam.