Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar is scheduled to receive a tigress from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve on October 2, in what forest officials have described as Bengal’s 13th tiger augmentation programme and the first time a tigress will be released into an enclosure at the reserve.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari is expected to attend the programme at Buxa, along with Union environment, forest and climate change minister Bhupender Yadav and senior officials. The translocation is part of a wider sequence of wildlife conservation events planned in Alipurduar, with the chief minister scheduled to visit the district twice within 10 days.
Four tigresses have been shortlisted for the translocation, according to officials. Experts will select one based on her suitability for the Buxa habitat. The selected animal will be transported by road from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar to Buxa Tiger Reserve in Bengal.
The tigress will initially be housed in an enclosure near the 25th Mile Tower inside Buxa to allow her to acclimatise to the local environment. Forest officials and experts will assess her condition after a few months before deciding whether she is ready to be released into the wild.
The forest department will not allow people to gather at the enclosure when the tigress is brought in, citing wildlife protection concerns. Instead, the event will be livestreamed for residents from the Parade Ground in Alipurduar town. Students are also expected to be invited to watch the programme.
Forest minister Manoj Oraon said the government wanted to send a clear message to poachers and wildlife smugglers that wild animals must be protected. He said strict action would be taken against poachers and that requests for leniency would not be entertained.
The first programme is scheduled for September 22 at Jaldapara National Park, where the chief minister will attend an event marking World Rhino Day. On the same day, seized wild animal body parts will be destroyed as part of an initiative intended to deter poaching and wildlife smuggling.
The state forest department is also expected to show the chief minister the rhino habitat inside Jaldapara, where officials will explain how the area is being maintained. Oraon said the chief minister had assured the department that he would attend both conservation programmes.
The October 2 event will therefore combine the arrival of the selected tigress, a controlled acclimatisation process and public viewing through a livestream. The animal’s eventual release into the wild will depend on the later assessment by forest officials and experts.
