IWN Daily Digest — Friday, 2 October 2026
A three-year-old tigress from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve is due to be released into Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal on Friday morning, in what ANI describes as the state’s first tiger reintroduction project, an attempt to rebuild a population in a forest that currently has no resident tigers.
As reported by ThePrint (PTI):
“A tigress arrived in Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district on Wednesday from Bihar and is scheduled to be released into the wild on October 2, Forest Minister Manoj Oraon said. The tigress has been brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve to augment the resident tiger population of Buxa, which currently does not have any tiger, but camera traps have spotted a big cat, which, however, experts believe had wandered from either Bhutan or Assam’s Manas National Park.”
Forest officials tranquillised the tigress in Valmiki’s West Champaran district on Tuesday 29 September, after what The Statesman reports were repeated attempts over seven days, and PTI says heavy rain disrupted the operation. The Statesman adds that she was one of three tigresses shortlisted by experts for the programme.
From there she went by road to Gorakhpur, then by Indian Air Force helicopter to Hasimara Air Force Station, where IANS reports she landed at 4.45am on Wednesday 30 September. A further 37 km by road took her into the reserve in Alipurduar district, where she has been held in an enclosure of about 2.2 hectares, roughly five acres. The Statesman reports that deer have been released inside it to strengthen the prey base.
She carries a radio collar so her movements can be followed after release, and the state forest minister has said arrangements are in place to make sure she does not stray towards human habitations. Officials have said Buxa could eventually sustain 10 to 15 tigers, according to ANI, which also notes that the reserve sits next to Assam’s Manas on one side.
The translocation belongs to a five-year project running from 2023-24 to 2027-28 that covers habitat improvement, prey availability, wildlife corridors and conflict reduction, according to PTI. The Union environment minister inspected the reserve on Thursday, and he and the West Bengal chief minister are both scheduled to attend the release, which is due at 9.30am on Friday.
Sources: ThePrint (PTI) · The Statesman · The Hawk (IANS) · ANI
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