Nets, tranq guns ready in Assam to capture tigress from Bengal’s first relocation project

Forest teams from Bengal and Assam are set to begin an operation on Tuesday to capture 'Doars Rani', the tigress that travelled nearly 100 km from Buxa Tiger Reserve into Assam. Teams equipped with nets and tranquiliser guns, along with three earthmovers, have been deployed in the area after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) cleared the operation.

The tigress was brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve to Buxa as a part of Bengal’s first tiger relocation project. It entered Assam 10 days ago and moved close to human settlements. “Pride of Bengal, Dooars Rani went to Assam 10 days ago.

She went close to human habitation, following which we decided to bring her back. We wrote to Assam, and Assam wrote to the NTCA. Today, the NTCA gave its approval. We will bring Dooars Rani home,” Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon told The Indian Express.

He said the area where the tigress was located had been cordoned off with nets, leaving one section open for people to pass. ALSO READ | ‘Crackers will disturb Doars Rani’: Bengal to ‘cage’ Buxa tigress that entered Assam “Earthmovers and teams from both Assam and Bengal are ready.

We will begin the capture operation tomorrow morning. We could not start today as it had become dark,” Oraon said. He added that he would visit the area again on Tuesday to oversee the operation. According to forest department sources, the tigress is currently near Barsijhora village, close to Dotma town in Kokrajhar district.

Earthmovers have been brought to the site, while teams with tranquiliser guns are positioned around the cordoned-off area. The tigress was earlier located near Narayanpur village in the Gossaigaon subdivision of Kokrajhar district.

After entering Assam, it was first spotted near Hatigarh village, where it killed three domesticated pigs and four piglets, according to forest officials. T-138 was brought to Buxa Tiger Reserve, spread over around 760 sq km in Alipurduar district, as part of a plan to revive the tiger population in the region.The Union Environment Ministry had said habitat degradation, changes in land use and declining prey availability had affected the reserve’s ability to sustain a resident tiger population.

The relocation was intended to begin a phased recovery programme. On October 2, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari released the tigress into the wild from a 2.2-hectare soft-release enclosure. Oraon had said the initial plan was to establish a tiger unit comprising one male and two female tigers.

To provide an undisturbed habitat and expand the prey base, the forest department had earlier relocated 242 households from core villages including Bhutia Basti and Gangutia Basti. Ravik Bhattacharya is a highly experienced and award-winning journalist currently serving as the Chi...

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