A three-year-old tigress, T138, was released in the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal on October 2.
She was brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav released her, with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari present.
It begins West Bengal’s first tiger reintroduction programme.
More tigers are planned, though ministers gave different timetables.
A three-year-old tigress identified as T138 was released into the core zone of the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district on Friday, October 2.
Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav released the tigress, with West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari present, according to reports.
The tigress was brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve in West Champaran district.
Forest officials tranquilised her at Valmiki on September 29 after repeated attempts over about seven days, which had been disrupted by heavy rain.
She was then flown to north Bengal and reached Buxa on Wednesday, ahead of the October 2 release.
The release marks the start of West Bengal’s first tiger reintroduction programme.
The project is run by the West Bengal Forest Department with the National Tiger Conservation Authority, or NTCA.
Buxa had no resident tigers before the release, although a camera trap had recorded a tiger that was believed to have entered from Assam or Bhutan.
Chief Minister Adhikari said three more tigers would be released in the next two months, according to the Free Press Journal.
Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said six tigers in all would be introduced in phases, with five more over the next three years, in 2027, 2028 and 2029.
Other reports said more tigers were expected from Assam’s Manas or Kaziranga reserves.
The reports differ on the pace of the later releases, with the two ministers describing different timetables.
The Chief Minister also announced a tourism centre planned on about 2,000 acres near Jayanti, according to the Free Press Journal.
Bengal tigress at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC0
