Buxa tigress in Kokrajhar to be captured, taken back to Bengal

West Bengal plans to capture the tigress that wandered out of Buxa Tiger Reserve into Assam's Kokrajhar district and bring her back, the state's forest minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said on Saturday, as the animal moved closer to villages on the edge of Raimona National Park.

Oraon, who visited Assam and met forest officials from both states, said the capture could begin on Sunday if the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) gives its approval. He was accompanied by James Basumatary, the Bodoland Territorial Council executive member in charge of forests, according to The Times of India.

Why Bengal wants her back

The minister said there has been no conflict with people so far, but the tigress is now staying close to human settlements. With Kali Puja and Diwali coming up, he said firecrackers in the villages could startle her, and the department did not want to take a risk.

The Indian Express reported that the tigress, which Bengal's forest department has nicknamed "Doars Rani", has killed three domestic pigs and four piglets since entering Assam about a week ago. She was first traced near Hatigarh village and later near Narayanpur village in the Gossaigaon sub-division of Kokrajhar district, according to sources in Raimona National Park quoted by the paper.

According to Oraon, Bengal has written to the Assam government, and Assam has in turn written to the NTCA seeking permission for the capture. He said he hoped clearance would come by Saturday night. Teams from both states, with trap-door cages and tranquiliser guns, are reported to be in the area waiting for the go-ahead. The minister did not say whether the animal would be lured into a cage or tranquillised; officials said the exact method was still being worked out.

Where she came from

The tigress was brought from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released into Buxa, in Bengal's Alipurduar district, on 2 October under Bengal's first tiger relocation programme, which aims to rebuild a breeding population in the reserve. She is fitted with a radio collar. The Indian Express reported that the collar signal failed on Thursday before her position was located again on Friday. Oraon said she had travelled around 100 km and even crossed a national highway.

After she is brought back, the tigress is likely to be kept in a 2.2-hectare enclosure at the 25th Mile area of Buxa, where officials plan to assess how she is adapting before deciding on another release, The Times of India said. The episode may also speed up the next step of the programme, bringing a male tiger from Valmiki.

Officials compared the case to that of Zeenat, the Odisha tigress from Similipal that travelled about 300 km through Jharkhand into Bengal before being captured in Bankura in December 2024 and later returned to the wild.

NEInsider first reported the tigress's arrival in Raimona on 30 October. We will update this story when the capture operation begins.