Tiger sightings prompt prey augmentation plan
Alipurduar: Amid frequent tiger sightings in the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), the Forest department has decided to establish an “open yard” spotted deer (chital) breeding centre to strengthen the prey base for tigers.
The proposed breeding centre will be developed by enclosing around 30 hectares of forest land near the 25 Mile Tower area of the reserve. A balanced population of male and female chital will be brought in from various protected forest areas of the state and released into the enclosure. Once breeding begins, the deer will be gradually released back into the wild in a phased manner.
Forest officials believe the initiative will significantly boost prey availability and improve habitat conditions for sustaining a long-term tiger population in Buxa. Earlier, more than 2,000 sambar and chital deer were translocated from other forest areas and released into the open forests of the reserve as part of prey augmentation efforts.
Meanwhile, the tiger frequently captured by camera traps in Buxa since January 15 has been confirmed—following image analysis by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun—not to belong to any northeastern tiger population. Based on the assessment, forest officials are now almost certain that the animal may have entered Buxa from neighbouring Bhutan.
Apurba Sen, Field Director of BTR, said: “We had sent the tiger photographs to the Wildlife Institute of India for analysis. The institute submitted a written report stating that the tiger is not from the Brahmaputra valley. This increases the possibility that the tiger may have crossed over from Bhutan.”
Camera traps recorded images of an adult male tiger in western Buxa on January 15 with subsequent footage showing the animal hunting chital deer. On January 27, a full-grown Royal Bengal Tiger was reportedly sighted in Bhutan’s Kalikhola area, adjacent to Bhutanaghat in eastern Buxa.
Tiger presence in Buxa was first detected in December 2021 after nearly three decades. Since then, the Forest department has intensified conservation efforts, including habitat restoration, grassland development and prey base enhancement, renewing hopes for the revival of tigers in the reserve.
