Then, on December 28, forest officials got an early New Year’s present as one of the camera traps in the national park captured a tiger crossing a dry riverbed. And three days later, on December 31, the tiger was captured at night, on a different camera.
The previous sighting, on December 12, 2021, was after 23 years of the big cat going missing from the tiger reserve. Experts are now hopeful that the tiger has returned for good, and what could follow is relocation of villages from inside the core area.
Experts say an increase in its prey base, expansion of the grassland, and controlling human interaction are potential reasons for the tiger’s comeback.
Buxa Tiger Reserve and National Park covers 760 square kilometers and is located in North Bengal’s Alipurduar district. Its Northern boundary runs along the border with Bhutan. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Reserve has corridor connectivity across the border with the forests of Bhutan in the North; linkages with the Kochugaon forests and Manas Tiger Reserve in the East; and with the Jaldapara National Park on the West.
The first image shows the big cat near a dry rivulet during the day, while the second image is a close-up at night.
“It is indeed a positive development. In the recent past, we have been able to reduce human interference, increase grassland as well as the prey base. We have been trying to create an ideal habitat for tigers here,” said Apurba Sen, Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve.
“It seems to be a different tiger than what was spotted in 2021. However, final confirmation will come after we evaluate the stripe marks. The process is on,” said Sen.
According to experts, Buxa is a “low density” reserve and part of a larger tiger territory which stretches all the way to Bhutan. “Over the last year, we introduced 200 chital (spotted deer). In the last three-four years, 900 such deer were introduced (as prey). We have also been able to increase the grassland about 70 hectares per year and create watering holes,” said Sen.
Ujjal Ghosh, the additional chief conservator of forest, North Bengal, said their initiatives to curb infiltration and trespassing “also worked towards creating a proper environment. We plan to relocate a couple of villages from the core area soon. That will further work towards lessening the presence of humans”.
It was in 2018 that the “Tiger augmentation and monitoring project” was introduced in Buxa by the state forest department, Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
According to K Ramesh, scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, who has also worked in Buxa, an increase in the tiger population in Assam’s Manas Tiger Reserve and forests of Bhutan, apart from a proper environment in Buxa, are key reasons behind the tiger spotting.
“Tigers always search for new habitat and territory. There is connectivity between Bhutan and Buxa. Once, there was heavy human disturbance in Buxa – from poaching activities to human interaction in the forest – but that has been controlled. I am hopeful that more tigers will venture into Buxa and maybe, in the near future, make it their home. There is also a plan to introduce nine tigers from outside,” he said.