Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: A three-year-old Royal Bengal tigress has wandered out of West Bengal. She crossed the Sankosh river on Friday to enter Assam’s Raimona National Park. This move happened just three weeks after her release into the Buxa Tiger Reserve.
Forest officials fitted the cat with a radio collar before her arrival. They are using the device to track her location in real time. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav oversaw her release on October 2. The project aims to build a resident tiger population in the Buxa reserve.
Buxa lacked a confirmed tiger population for nearly a decade until a sighting in 2021. Further sightings occurred through January 2026, but a stable group never formed. West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Oraon believes the tigress is simply hunting for the right home. "The tigress has moved towards Assam through a specific corridor. It is using the corridor to mark its own territory," Oraon said.
Authorities have no plans to catch the cat. They refuse to use tranquilizers to force her back to Buxa. Officials want to see if she settles in the Raimona forest on her own. This journey highlights the connection between the forested regions of West Bengal and Assam. For now, the hunt for a new habitat continues under close observation.
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