Tigress released in Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve; plans afoot for three more by end of year

Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday released a tigress in the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in attendance.

Addressing the event, Mr. Adhikari said three more tigers will be released in Buxa Tiger Reserve in the next two months.

The three-year-old tigress was brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve to populate the Buxa reserve with big cats. Although the reserve did not have any big cats, camera traps have spotted a tiger, which experts believe had wandered into the region from either Bhutan or Assam’s Manas National Park.

The release of the big cat into the Buxa reserve coincided with the start of World Wildlife Week, 2026.

In a post on X, Mr. Yadav said, “Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for landscape conservation and species protection, today we have fulfilled the significant promise to reintroduce a tiger in Buxa. T138 has been brought from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar to Buxa.”

He thanked the Chief Ministers of Bihar and Bengal “for their support in this successful reintroduction”.

Mr. Adhikari also thanked Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary for the smooth translocation of the tigress from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve to Buxa. He also alleged that the previous Trinamool Congress government in Bengal had no inclination to save wildlife and only wanted to quarrel with the Centre.

West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Oraon described the translocation as a significant step towards augmenting tiger population in Buxa.

The translocation is part of a five-year project planned for financial years 2023-24 to 2027-28, officials said.

The Proposal for Tiger Augmentation and Soft Release of Tiger in Buxa Tiger Reserve envisages not only bringing tigers to the reserve but also improving prey availability, developing suitable habitats, strengthening wildlife corridors and reducing human-wildlife conflict.