West Bengal's Buxa reserve to get two more tigers to be brought from Bihar Assam

Kolkata, Nov 11 (PTI) West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Oraon on Wednesday said plans are underway to relocate two more tigers to the Buxa reserve in Alipurduar district by the end of this month to strengthen the resident big cat population.

    Speaking to PTI, Oraon said the two tigers will be brought from Bihar and Assam.

    On the tigress relocated to Buxa "escaping" again, the minister said the animal was still within the reserve's core area, and its movements were being monitored through a radio collar.

    He said the tigress was currently moving in an area around five to seven kilometres from the enclosure, adding that the animal was accustomed to moving freely in the forest rather than being confined to a fenced enclosure.

    "All necessary steps are being taken under the supervision of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)," he said.

    The tigress was brought to Buxa from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve on October 2. It subsequently strayed into Assam, from where it was captured using a tranquiliser dart and brought back to Buxa on November 4 by a team of forest personnel.

    The animal was kept in a 2.2-hectare enclosure at the reserve but escaped again by digging a passage beneath the iron fencing.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)