Why is Buxa Bringing Tigers Back?

07 Oct 2026

Tags: Environment   Conservation   Protection frameworks

Source: The Hindu

Context: On October 2, three-year-old tigress T138 was released into Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR), West Bengal, beginning a phased programme to establish a viable, self-sustaining tiger population.

• Three more tigers are likely to be introduced subsequently.
• T138 was translocated from Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), Bihar.
• The objective is not merely to increase tiger numbers but to create conditions for breeding and establishment of a self-sustaining population.

How Will the Reintroduction Take Place?

• Initially, T138 will remain in an approximately 2.3-hectare enclosure to acclimatise to the new environment.
• She will subsequently be released into the wider reserve after adaptation.
• Post-release monitoring will combine telemetry, camera trapping and field-based monitoring.
• These methods will track the tiger’s movement, behaviour, health and adaptation to the new habitat.

Why is Buxa Suitable?

• Buxa was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1983 and is India's 15th tiger reserve.
• It covers approximately 760.87 sq. km, extending about 50 km east–west and 35 km north–south.
• Its location provides important transboundary and landscape-level connectivity:
  • North: Forests of Bhutan.
  • East: Kochugaon forests and Manas Tiger Reserve.
  • West:Jaldapara National Park.
• Such connectivity can facilitate movement of wildlife and potentially support long-term tiger population recovery.
• However, habitat degradation, fragmentation, changing land use and declining prey availability have weakened conditions for maintaining a resident tiger population.

Why Was Valmiki Tiger Reserve Chosen?

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) identified Buxa, Dampa and Palamu among reserves requiring tiger reintroduction efforts.
• A reintroduction programme initiated in 2018 subsequently led to the Buxa initiative.
• Scientists sought a source population occupying a habitat ecologically comparable to Buxa.
• Valmiki Tiger Reserve, located in the eastern part of the Terai Arc Landscape, was considered suitable because of similarities in terrain and ecological conditions.
• Tigers from the Sundarbans were not preferred because the Sundarbans' unique mangrove ecosystem differs substantially from Buxa's terrain and habitat.
• The Indian Sundarbans supports around 100 tigers, making it an important tiger landscape but not necessarily an appropriate source for Buxa.

What Does “Tiger Reintroduction” Mean?

• In the Indian context, tiger reintroduction means establishing a tiger population in a part of the species' historical range from which it has become locally extinct.
• It differs from simply releasing individual animals because the ultimate objective is establishment of a breeding and self-sustaining population.
• India describes its tiger-reintroduction programme as the first scientific endeavour of its kind globally.

India's Experience with Tiger Reintroduction

• India began major scientific tiger reintroduction efforts in 2008, notably in Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, and Panna Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh.
• The programme has subsequently been undertaken across 12 tiger reserves.
• It involves collaboration between the NTCA, State governments and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
• Tiger numbers have increased in several reserves where reintroduction has been undertaken.
• However, outcomes have not been uniform across all landscapes.

Example: Satkosia

• Reintroduction in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Odisha, encountered difficulties in tiger adaptation.
• Human–tiger conflict, including livestock depredation, generated negative local responses.
• This demonstrates that successful reintroduction depends not only on habitat suitability but also on prey availability, social acceptance and conflict management.

NTCA Protocol for Tiger Reintroduction

• Learning from earlier experiences, the NTCA has developed a dedicated tiger reintroduction protocol.
• It covers:
  • Objectives and institutional arrangements.
  • Pre-project activities and feasibility assessment.
  • Site selection and evaluation.
  • Suitability of the source/release tigers.
  • Socio-economic requirements.
  • Preparations for release.
  • Post-release monitoring and management.
• The protocol reflects the shift from animal release to scientifically planned population recovery.

Challenges at Buxa

• Buxa has lacked a stable resident tiger population for several years, although occasional tigers have been recorded, particularly during winter.
• The reserve contains settlements and is surrounded by revenue villages and tea estates, increasing the possibility of human–tiger interactions.
• Around 300 families are being relocated by the State government to facilitate the reintroduction programme.
• Linear infrastructure, including a railway line, poses major threats to wildlife movement; elephants in the region have suffered significant mortality.
• Heavy commercial traffic on the road connecting Bhutan and West Bengal through Buxa adds another potential disturbance and wildlife-movement risk.
• Habitat fragmentation, prey availability and human pressure will therefore determine whether the introduced tigers can establish a viable population.

Can Buxa Sustain a Tiger Population?

• Buxa's large area and connectivity with Bhutan, Manas and Jaldapara provide important ecological advantages.
• However, geographical size alone does not guarantee tiger recovery.
• Long-term success will depend on adequate prey base, habitat quality, ecological connectivity, control of human disturbance and effective conflict management.
• The relocation of families and management of roads and railway infrastructure are therefore integral to the programme rather than peripheral measures.

Important Institutions

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA): Statutory body under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006; responsible for strengthening tiger conservation and implementing Project Tiger.
• Wildlife Institute of India (WII): Autonomous institution under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC); undertakes research, training, monitoring and technical support for wildlife conservation.
• Project Tiger: Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 1973 to conserve tigers and their habitats through designated tiger reserves and landscape-level management.

Terai Arc Landscape

• The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) extends across the lowland Terai region of India and Nepal.
• It comprises interconnected forests, grasslands and protected areas that support species such as tigers, elephants and rhinoceroses.
• Maintaining connectivity across such landscapes is important because isolated protected areas may not provide sufficient space for viable wildlife populations.
• Buxa's connectivity with Bhutan and neighbouring protected areas therefore gives the reintroduction programme significance beyond the boundaries of the tiger reserve.