Buxa Tiger Reserve prepares for return of one-horned rhinos after 75 years

Alipurduar: With the population of one-horned rhinos in Jaldapara National Park crossing 330, the Forest Department is preparing a new home for the species at Buxa Tiger Reserve. Deep inside the Nimati Range in western Buxa, a 60-hectare grassland habitat has been created, where the Forest Department has decided to initially release a pair of one-horned rhinos into this new habitat.

This will make Buxa the third rhino habitat in West Bengal, after Jaldapara and Gorumara. Rhinos were once native to Buxa’s forests, where they coexisted with wild buffaloes, elephants, and tigers. However, rampant poaching in the 1980s wiped out rhinos, wild buffalo, and even the Royal Bengal Tiger from the reserve. While migratory tigers have occasionally been spotted in recent winters, rhinos have not been seen here for more than six decades. The last resident rhinos were recorded in 1960, with a lone stray from Jaldapara sighted in 1982.

To restore Buxa’s lost biodiversity, the Forest Department began preparing a rhino-friendly habitat nearly a decade ago. Over the past eight years, a sprawling grassland has been nurtured in water-rich zones of Nimati, complete with a multipurpose watchtower and security infrastructure to ensure the animals’ protection.

Apurba Sen, Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve, explained the cautious approach. “You cannot just bring back a species that has disappeared simply because you wish to. It requires a long-term and well-planned strategy. For reintroducing rhinos in Nimati, we are following the same roadmap. The habitat is almost ready. Now, we are waiting for the necessary approval,” he said. If all goes as planned, rhinos will once again roam the Nimati grasslands of Buxa—restoring a legacy that disappeared nearly 75 years ago.