Kolkata: The presence of the Buxa tigress near human habitation in Assam days ahead of the Kali Puja festivities has prompted the Bengal forest department to decide that it would bring her back to Buxa Tiger Reserve, state forest minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said on Saturday. The tigress’s migration from north Bengal to Assam’s Raimona National Park has not triggered any human-tiger conflict yet.“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. The Bengal forest dept has already informed its Assam counterpart, which has written to the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for permission. We hope to get the clearance by Saturday night and will begin the capture operation from Sunday,” Oraon said in Assam, with James Basumatary, executive member (EM) for the forest department, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), by his side.“Days ahead of Kali Puja, we don’t want to take a chance. Villagers here will burst crackers and that might startle the tigress,” Oraon added.The minister, however, did not specify whether the operation would involve luring the tigress into a cage using bait or tranquillising her. The exact capture strategy is yet to be finalised, sources said.Once brought back, the tigress is likely to be kept in the 2.2-hectare enclosure at the 25th Mile area of BTR. The forest department is expected to use this period to assess her adaptation and wait for suitable conditions before considering another release into the wild.The developments are also likely to accelerate preparations for the next phase of Bengal’s tiger augmentation programme — bringing a male tiger from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve. The department is expected to initiate arrangements for the translocation.The development bears similarities to the case of Odisha tigress Zeenat, which became a national talking point after she travelled across state boundaries following her release in Similipal. Zeenat crossed into Jharkhand and subsequently Bengal, covering nearly 300 km before being captured in Bankura in Dec 2024 and returned to Odisha.After her return, Zeenat was kept in a soft-release enclosure for several months. Forest officials eventually released her into the wild after detecting signs of male tiger movement in the surrounding landscape.
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