Reintroduction of tigers in Buxa: What it means for conservation | Explained
West Bengal has begun a phased reintroduction of tigers into the Buxa Tiger Reserve, starting with the release of a three-year-old tigress named T138. The project aims to restore the reserve's ecological balance and create a self-sustaining tiger population after years of habitat degradation.
Why it matters
Successful reintroduction is critical for biodiversity conservation and restoring apex predators to fragmented ecosystems.
a three-year-old tigress, T138, was released into the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal marking the beginning of a phased programme to reintroduce tigers and establish a viable, self-sustaining population in the reserve. Two to three more tigers are likely to be added to the reserve which has not recorded much presence of tigers over the past few years.
The tigress was translocated from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released in the presence of Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
Initially the tigress would be kept in an enclosed area of about 2.3 hectares to allow the animal to acclimatise to its new surroundings before it is released into the wider reserve. T138 would be subject to intensive post-release monitoring using a combination of telemetry, camera trapping and field-based monitoring to assess her movement, adaptation, health and behaviour.
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