Gorumara Wildlife Div examines expanded range of Bengal Tigers

Jalpaiguri: Recently, at an altitude of 14,000 feet in Sikkim’s Pangolakha Sanctuary, a trap camera captured an image of a Royal Bengal Tiger.

Following this discovery, the Gorumara Wildlife Department initiated a review to understand the extent of Bengal tiger movements.

According to the forest department, Bengal Tigers usually prefer to stay within a specific area and are not often seen outside their usual territories. However, in recent years, similar Bengal Tigers have been spotted in trap cameras from various departments in the hilly forest areas. This raises the question: is the range of Bengal Tiger movements increasing instead of being confined to specific areas?

The Gorumara Wildlife Division is working in coordination with the Sikkim Forest Department to find an answer.

Later this year, a Bengal Tiger was also captured by a camera trap at an altitude of 10,000 feet in Neora Valley, under the Gorumara Wildlife Division. The investigation aims to determine if this tiger is the same as the one seen in Pangolakha, Sikkim, or a different one.

Dwijaa Pratim Sen, the Divisional Forest Officer of the Gorumara Wildlife Division, stated: “We are in discussions with Sikkim forest officials. It is claimed that the Bengal Tiger spotted in Pangolakha Sanctuary may have come from Bhutan. We need to determine whether they are indeed two separate tigers or just one. To do this, we will review the stripe patterns of the Royal Bengal Tigers. We are coordinating with the Sikkim Forest Department and have decided to share our camera trap images with them. If it turns out to be the same tiger, we will gain new insights into the Bengal Tiger’s range of movement, which will become a subject of formal research.”