Brought in to help repopulate Buxa, T-138 is now in Assam, Pg12

Key Highlights:

• Tigress T-138, introduced for reintroduction to West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve, traveled 35 km into Assam's Raimona National Park.
• The tigress was translocated from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve on September 30 as part of a phased tiger reintroduction program.
• This initiative marked the first time a tiger was successfully airlifted between states in India for such a reintroduction program.
• Authorities are tracking the GPS-tagged tigress in Raimona National Park and may tranquilize it for relocation if deemed necessary.

Detailed Insights:

• T-138, a three-year-old tigress, was released into Buxa Tiger Reserve to restore a viable and self-sustaining tiger population.
• Buxa Tiger Reserve, declared in 1983, is a 760 sq km protected area in West Bengal's Alipurduar district.
• The reintroduction program addresses historical habitat degradation, changes in land use, and prey decline that led to the absence of a stable tiger population in Buxa.
• The tigress was airlifted by a military aircraft to Hasimara Air Force Station before being taken to the Rajabhatkhawa forest area within Buxa.
• Raimona National Park, declared in 2021, is located in Assam's Kokrajhar district, near the Indo-Bhutan border.
• It forms a crucial transboundary conservation landscape with Bhutan's Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park.
• Locals in Raimona National Park have expressed concerns due to the tigress's presence and a reported pig kill.
• The reintroduction project is supported by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
• Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar has seen a significant increase in its tiger population, from 8 in 2010 to 54 in 2022.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Tiger Reintroduction Program: Efforts to re-establish tiger populations in areas where they have declined or become locally extinct.
• Transboundary Conservation: Collaborative management of protected areas across national borders to conserve shared ecosystems and wildlife.
• GPS-tagging: Use of Global Positioning System devices to track the movement and behavior of wildlife for monitoring and research.