{"id":127708,"date":"2026-10-06T11:41:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=127708"},"modified":"2026-10-06T11:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T06:11:57","slug":"buxa-tiger-reserve-rebuilding-a-lost-tiger-population","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/buxa-tiger-reserve-rebuilding-a-lost-tiger-population\/","title":{"rendered":"Buxa Tiger Reserve &#8211; Rebuilding a Lost Tiger Population"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Buxa Tiger Reserve Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A three-year-old tigress, <\/span><b>T138<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was released into Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), <\/span><b>West Bengal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, on October 2, marking the beginning of a phased programme to <\/span><b>reintroduce tigers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and establish a viable, self-sustaining tiger population in the reserve.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tigress was translocated from <\/span><b>Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in the presence of Union Environment Minister and West Bengal CM.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tiger reintroduction is a conservation strategy used when a species has become locally extinct but suitable habitat remains available for restoring a breeding population. Three more tigers are expected to be introduced.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Reintroduction of T138<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initially, T138 will remain in a 2.3-hectare enclosure to <\/span><b>acclimatise <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to the new environment.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Intensive post-release <\/span><b>monitoring <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">through telemetry, camera traps and field-based observation will track her movement, adaptation, health and behaviour.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>objective <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is not merely to increase tiger numbers, but to create ecological conditions in which a tiger population can establish, breed and eventually become viable and self-sustaining.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Significance of Buxa Tiger Reserve<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buxa was declared a Tiger Reserve in <\/span><b>1983 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">under Project Tiger and is the <\/span><b>15th<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Tiger Reserve in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Located in the Alipurduar subdivision of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, it covers about 760.87 sq km. The reserve extends approximately 50 km east-west and 35 km north-south.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has important <\/span><b>transboundary <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and landscape-level <\/span><b>connectivity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including <\/span><b>Bhutan <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to the north, Kochugaon forests (Assam), <\/span><b>Manas <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tiger Reserve (Assam) and <\/span><b>Jaldapara <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">National Park (West Bengal) towards the east.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such connectivity is crucial for wildlife <\/span><b>corridors, gene flow<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and long-term population viability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Why did Tiger Numbers Decline in Buxa?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buxa experienced a prolonged absence of a stable resident tiger population.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increasing <\/span><b>anthropogenic pressure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, habitat degradation and fragmentation, land-use changes and declining prey availability weakened the ecological conditions necessary for sustaining tigers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Bengal nevertheless has an established tiger population in the <\/span><b>Sundarbans<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the world&#8217;s only mangrove tiger habitat, with about 100 tigers according to the latest census.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, translocating Sundarbans tigers to Buxa was considered unsuitable because of major differences in terrain and habitat.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Reasons for Choosing Valmiki Tiger Reserve<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-tiger-conservation-authority-ntca\/\" target=\"_blank\">National Tiger Conservation Authority (<\/a><\/strong><\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-tiger-conservation-authority-ntca\/\" target=\"_blank\">NTCA<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-tiger-conservation-authority-ntca\/\" target=\"_blank\">)<\/a><\/strong> found no tigers in Buxa, Dampa (Mizoram) and Palamu (Jharkhand) Tiger Reserves and initiated a tiger reintroduction programme in <\/span><b>2018<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scientists and forest officials searched for a source population inhabiting conditions comparable to Buxa.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valmiki Tiger Reserve, located in the easternmost part of the <\/span><b>Terai Arc Landscape<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was considered suitable because of similarities in terrain.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Valmiki also has ecological connectivity with the <\/span><b>Bhutan landscape<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, making it relevant from a wider landscape-conservation perspective.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>India\u2019s Experience with Tiger Reintroduction<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tiger reintroduction in India is a major scientific and collaborative conservation effort involving the <\/span><b>NTCA, State governments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the Wildlife Institute of India (<\/span><b>WII<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The programme began successfully in <\/span><b>2008<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with tigers reintroduced into Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, and Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since then, reintroduction has been undertaken across several tiger reserves. However, outcomes have not been uniformly successful.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u2018Reintroduction &amp; Population Recovery of Tigers in India\u2019 (a publication by NTCA and WII), highlighted difficulties experienced in <\/span><b>Satkosia <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tiger Reserve, Odisha.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Translocated tigers faced problems adapting to the new landscape, while human-tiger conflict, livestock depredation and negative local responses also emerged.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, some tiger-release attempts in <\/span><b>Dongarpur <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Rajasthan) were unsuccessful because of multiple factors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>NTCA Protocol for Reintroduction<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learning from earlier experiences, the NTCA has prepared a detailed protocol on tiger reintroduction covering &#8211;<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Objectives and aims of reintroduction<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Constitution of the expert team<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-project activities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Feasibility <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>site-suitability <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">assessment<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Selection and evaluation of release sites<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Selection and suitability of source tigers<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Socio-economic requirements<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preparation for release<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post-release <\/span><b>monitoring <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>management<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This reflects the shift from simply increasing tiger numbers towards <\/span><b>evidence-based<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, landscape-level conservation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Major Challenges for Buxa<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Human settlements and conflict: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buxa is surrounded by revenue villages and tea estates. Around 300 families are reportedly being relocated to improve the prospects of successful tiger reintroduction.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Habitat and prey concerns<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The reserve has lacked a stable resident tiger population for years, while habitat degradation and prey availability remain important ecological considerations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Linear infrastructure: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wildlife, particularly elephants, has been severely affected by linear infrastructure, including a railway line. Heavy commercial traffic on the road connecting Bhutan and West Bengal through Buxa adds to the pressure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Landscape connectivity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Maintaining functional corridors is essential because isolated populations face risks of habitat fragmentation, genetic isolation and human-wildlife conflict.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Buxa initiative illustrates that wildlife conservation is not merely species protection but <\/span><b>ecosystem restoration.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Successful tiger reintroduction requires suitable habitat, adequate prey, ecological connectivity, scientific monitoring, community participation and mitigation of human-wildlife conflict.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/india\/the-free-press-journal\/20261003\/282222312695441?srsltid=AU7gw4VQMTXI39LdT4hIj9N21zdWx2Asm7L7Z2x7texiEzZ0Q4zmZ1XP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>TH<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A three-year-old tigress, T138, was released into Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), West Bengal, marking the beginning of a phased programme to reintroduce tigers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":127715,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[4121],"class_list":["post-127708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-buxa-tiger-reserve","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127708"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127742,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127708\/revisions\/127742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}