Bengal’s big cat revival: Tigress T138 walks into Buxa wild, begins new chapter
Kolkata, Oct 5 (IANS) Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav on Monday announced that T138, a Royal Bengal tigress translocated from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, has been released into the wild at West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR).
Yadav shared a video on X showing the tigress stepping out of her enclosure and entering the forest.
“T138 steps out of the enclosure and into the jungle,” the Minister wrote.
The release marks a significant step in West Bengal’s first tiger reintroduction project and comes after the tigress was brought to Buxa as part of efforts to restore its tiger population.
Yadav visited BTR in Alipurduar district on October 2 and reviewed preparations for the release of the three-year-old tigress. The visit coincided with the nationwide launch of National Wildlife Week.
During the inspection, Yadav underlined the importance of restoring big cats to Buxa, recalling that the 2018 tiger census had confirmed the complete absence of tigers from the reserve. He said a few tigers had been recorded during the 2012 estimation, but their numbers subsequently declined.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Alipurduar MP Manoj Tigga accompanied Yadav during the field inspection. The Minister said Buxa, along with the Sundarbans, is West Bengal’s designated tiger reserve and needs to sustain its native apex predators.
The tigress was airlifted from Bihar to north Bengal on September 30. She was flown from Gorakhpur airport to Hasimara Air Force Station in an automatic cage, with full medical support. An Indian Air Force IM-17 helicopter was used for the operation.
After landing at Hasimara, two wildlife doctors and tiger experts examined the tigress for more than an hour and assessed her physical parameters. Following the health checks, she was transported by road to Buxa Tiger Reserve.
The tigress was kept in a temporary enclosure at Buxa before her release into the core forest area. Her release is expected to mark a fresh phase in efforts to re-establish a viable tiger population in the reserve.
The move strengthens conservation efforts in north Bengal, where Buxa remains an important wildlife habitat and conservation landscape regionally.
–IANS
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