In early October 2026, a three-year-old tigress from the Valmiki Reserve in Bihar arrived at Buxa Reserve in West Bengal. She was flown in on a military aircraft and then transported to a special enclosure of about 2,3 hectares. There the animal will acclimatize before release into the wild — this is part of a project to restore the tiger population in a region where there have been no permanent residents for many years.
Buxa was once part of the Bengal tiger's range, but in recent years only rare wanderers from Bhutan or Assam have been recorded here. According to the West Bengal Forest Department, the tigress from Valmiki had no conflicts with people and preferred to hunt wild boars. There are plans to equip her with a radio collar to track her movements, and in the coming years they intend to bring in two or three more individuals in stages.
However, experts point to serious challenges. The reserve notes an insufficient prey base, fragmented habitats, and the presence of villages in the core zone. These factors could complicate the animal's adaptation and the long-term establishment of the population. The project "Proposal for Increasing Tiger Numbers and Soft Release in Buxa" is designed for five years and includes monitoring, but success largely depends on improving environmental conditions.
Such translocations resemble transplanting a sapling into depleted soil: without care for the roots — that is, for the prey base and reducing anthropogenic pressure — growth will prove fragile. In Buxa's case, what is at stake is not only the return of a predator but also the restoration of the ecosystem's balance, in which the tiger serves as an indicator of the forest's health.
The temporary closure of tourism for several days around the release date underscores the seriousness of the preparations. Officials and specialists from several states coordinated the operation, including the capture after many days of attempts in rainy conditions. This shows how complex and labor-intensive each such undertaking is.
The success of reintroduction in Buxa will be an important test for the strategy of restoring tigers outside the Sundarbans, but it will require systematic work with habitats and local communities.
