West Bengal's first relocated tigress captured on sojourn in Assam, returned to Buxa

A tigress that crossed into Assam from West Bengal and entered Raimona National Park being rescued, in Buxa, West Bengal, on Tuesday (November 3, 2026).

The three-year-old tigress, who was recently relocated to West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve from Bihar, was captured on a foray into Assam and returned to West Bengal on Tuesday (November 3, 2026).

The tigress, Dooars Rani (BTR-TF-1/ T-138), was released in Buxa on October 2 from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve as part of the State’s first tiger relocation project. She crossed into Assam's Raimona National Park on Sunday (October 25, 2026) in search of habitat.

"On Tuesday, we tranquilised the tigress, caged her, and brought her back to Buxa. Initially we let her explore and captured her today only when she came close to human settlements. However, there is nothing to panic about now. The tigress is also safe and healthy," said Forest Minister Manoj Oraon. The minister has been present in Assam for the last four days to monitor the tigress.

According to the officials, the tigress crossed the Sankosh River and a road in Gosaigaon in Assam to enter Raimona looking for habitat. Her movement area was traced up to 25 km from the Bengal border.

Forest officials from Assam and West Bengal, along with a team from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), initially decided to let her explore. "She is not the property of any government. It is the nature of tigers to explore. She will likely cross into Raimona or any other area again. Our team will continue to monitor her," said the minister.

On October 2, the tigress was translocated from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released in the presence of Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The CM said three more tigers would be released in Buxa over the next two months, and the initiative would not only help in conservation but also in boosting tourism.

Buxa was declared a tiger reserve in 1983, but there have been no reports of a tiger’s presence in the region of late. According to an official statement by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the recovery of Buxa has been a sustained, science-based effort, and the Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project, initiated by the Government of West Bengal with support from the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), has been implemented collaboratively since 2018.

Forest officials say this new tigress from Bihar will be subjected to intensive post-release monitoring using a combination of telemetry, camera trapping, and field-based monitoring to assess her movement, adaptation, health, and behaviour.

West Bengal / Kolkata / animal / environmental issues