Alipurduar: With the onset of winter, wild dogs — commonly known as dholes — have begun descending from the higher altitudes of the Bhutan hills into the plains of the Buxa Tiger Reserve. This year, the Forest department has already confirmed their presence deep inside the reserve through recent trap-camera photographs. Tourists have also captured visuals of multiple dhole packs moving across the forest landscape.
Their arrival has revived hopes of spotting the Royal Bengal Tiger, as past records show a correlation between dhole movement and tiger activity in Buxa. After almost three decades, a Royal Bengal Tiger was photographed in the reserve in 2020, and again in 2022. On both occasions, the tiger descended to the plains shortly after dholes appeared in the area. Based on this pattern, officials are maintaining heightened vigilance this year.
Forest officials say last winter was mild with persistent fog, which may have restricted tiger movement. Conditions are more favourable this year. Tigers can travel freely across Manas and Raimona National Parks, through Bhutan’s forests, and reach Buxa and may even disperse toward Neora Valley National Park. To track possible tiger movement, the installation of around 250 trap cameras will begin within the next week, with all range offices along likely routes placed on alert. Although the winter descent of dholes is a natural seasonal event in North Bengal’s forests, their movement appears stronger this year. Multiple packs have been observed from Lepchakha to Jayanti
in recent days.
Typically moving in groups of 5 to 12, dholes gather in larger numbers when prey availability increases. Listed as ‘Endangered’ by the IUCN, their conservation remains a priority for forest authorities.
“We detected the presence of dholes only a few days ago. Their role in Buxa’s ecosystem is immense,” said Debashish Sharma, DFO (East).
“Trap-camera installation will begin soon, and we are hopeful of positive results in the coming months.”