The Bengal forest department has decided to capture a tigress that migrated from north Bengal to Assam’s Raimona National Park and return her to Buxa Tiger Reserve after she moved close to human habitation, state forest minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said on Saturday.
The decision comes days before Kali Puja, when villagers are expected to burst firecrackers. Oraon said the department did not want to risk the tigress being startled while she remained near settlements, although there has been no reported human-tiger conflict so far.
“Although there has been no conflict situation, the tigress is staying close to human habitation. We have, therefore, decided to capture her and bring her back to Buxa,” Oraon said in Assam, alongside James Basumatary, executive member for the forest department of the Bodoland Territorial Council.
The Bengal forest department has informed its Assam counterpart about the planned operation. Assam has written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) seeking permission, and Oraon said the authorities hoped to receive clearance by Saturday night and begin the capture operation from Sunday.
Officials have not yet finalised how the tigress will be captured. Oraon did not specify whether the operation would involve luring her into a cage with bait or using a tranquillising method. Sources cited in the report said the exact strategy was still being worked out.
If captured, the tigress is likely to be kept in the 2.2-hectare enclosure at the 25th Mile area of Buxa Tiger Reserve. The forest department is expected to use the period in the enclosure to assess her adaptation and wait for suitable conditions before considering another release into the wild.
The operation also comes as Bengal prepares for the next phase of its tiger augmentation programme. The state is expected to begin arrangements to bring a male tiger from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, although the report did not provide a specific timeline for that translocation.
The tigress’s movement across the state boundary has drawn comparisons with the case of Odisha’s tigress Zeenat. After being released in Similipal, Zeenat travelled through Jharkhand and into Bengal, covering nearly 300 km before she was captured in Bankura in December 2024 and returned to Odisha.
Following her return, Zeenat was kept in a soft-release enclosure for several months. Forest officials later released her into the wild after detecting signs of male tiger movement in the surrounding landscape.
For the Buxa tigress, the immediate next step is the NTCA clearance followed by the capture operation, with the department yet to announce the final method and operational schedule.
