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

On November 3, West Bengal and Assam's forest officials successfully captured "Dooars Rani", a three-year-old tigress that had traveled nearly 100 km from West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve into Assam. The tigress, known as BT1, had entered Raimona National Park in Bodoland Territorial Council on October 23, fleeing to find a new territory. After being radio-collared and released in Buxa on October 2, BT1 continued her journey, entering Assam and making her way to Raimona National Park.

Following her approach to human settlements in Kokrajhar, joint efforts by West Bengal and Assam's forest teams began to track her movements. They managed to corner her on November 3, near Gelaguri Gaon, around 10 km from Kokrajhar town in the Bodoland Territorial Council after repeated attempts to evade capture. Assam's forest teams employed elephants and excavators as part of the operation, but the tigress proved elusive.

Following the capture, Assam's District Forest Officer, Mustafa Ahmed, monitored the rescue operation without causing any disturbance to the local population. West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Oraon praised the inter-state coordination and cooperation between state authorities, local communities, and forest departments, highlighting the importance of wildlife conservation. BT1 was safely transported back to Buxa Tiger Reserve.