Kolkata, Aug 1 (PTI) The West Bengal forest department
is bringing six tigers to Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar
district, as part of its effort to augment the population of
big cats in the national park, an official said on Saturday.
The six big cats are being brought from Kaziranga
National Park in Assam, Chief Wildlife Warden Ravikant Sinha
told PTI.
"Arrangements have been made to ensure safe and smooth
transit of the animals," he said.
Sinha said the government wanted to increase the
population of Royal Bengal tigers in BTR, the largest forest
in North Bengal with an area of 745 sq-km.
"Recently, two Royal Bengal tigers have been spotted
in Buxa through our camera traps. These two big cats were seen
from various locations of the core area of the forest. So, at
least two tigers are there already and we need to raise the
number," Sinha said.
The six tigers are being relocated from Kaziranga to
Buxa as these two reserve forests have similar habitats, the
official said.
The BTR, which is spread over the plains and
foothills, has about 390 sq-km of core area and is home of 73
mammal species including leopard, chital deer and wild boar.
The forest department had recently launched a short
film about the BTR, the official said.
The film was handed over to the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA) to create a buzz about the
reserve forest nationally, he added. PTI SUS
BDC BDC