The Buxa tigress identified as BTR-TF1 will be captured in Assam’s Raimona National Park and returned to West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve after moving closer to human habitation, West Bengal forest minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said on Saturday. The operation is awaiting clearance from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), with officials hoping to begin the capture from Sunday.
The three-year-old tigress entered Raimona through its western range after being airlifted around 550 km from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve to Buxa earlier this month. The western section of Raimona forms part of a contiguous wildlife corridor linking protected forests across Assam and West Bengal with Bhutan’s Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary.
Although the animal has not been involved in any reported conflict with people, its movement towards the southern range of Raimona has increased monitoring requirements. Boraguri village, located around five to six kilometres from a highway stretch, is currently the nearest human habitation, according to officials. The tigress had earlier been moving through the park’s central range before gradually shifting southwards.
“The tigress, which was earlier moving through the central range, has gradually shifted towards the southern part of the park, where human settlements are also present. The movement has prompted the forest department to closely monitor her whereabouts,” an official at Assam’s Kachugaon Reserve Forest said.
The official said the tigress had not attacked humans or livestock, although she had eaten some piglets. Personnel from the Sashastra Seema Bal, Assam Police, the Wildlife Institute of India, and the forest departments of Assam and West Bengal are coordinating the tracking effort.
Officials briefly lost the tigress’s radio-collar signal on Thursday after she moved through a dense forest patch. Tracking teams spent much of Friday attempting to re-establish contact and later resumed monitoring her movement through a high-frequency radio telemetry system.
The West Bengal forest department has informed its Assam counterpart about the proposed return. The Assam forest department has subsequently written to the NTCA for approval of the capture operation. Oraon said the department also wanted to avoid the risk of the tigress being startled by fireworks as Kali Puja approaches.
The proposed operation highlights the administrative challenge of managing animals across connected protected forests rather than within a single reserve. In this case, the tigress’s movement across state boundaries has required coordination between two forest departments, a national conservation authority, security personnel and a wildlife research institution. The next operational step is the NTCA’s clearance, after which teams are expected to begin the capture effort.
