Tigress from Bihar Returns to Buxa Reserve: New Footage

The roar of a tiger will once again resound in the forests of the Buxa Reserve in West Bengal after a long silence. On 2 October 2026, a three-year-old tigress, T138, from the Valmiki Reserve in Bihar was released there — the first reintroduction in decades in a region that had lacked a stable population for many years.

The choice of source was no accident: Valmiki and Buxa share a similar Terai landscape — swampy lowlands at the foot of the Himalayas with dense grasses and forests. In Valmiki, the tiger population grew from eight in 2010 to 54 according to the latest census, which made it possible to set aside animals for relocation without harming the source population.

The tigress was first placed in a soft release — an enclosed area of about 2,3 hectares so that she could grow accustomed to her new environment. She wears a satellite collar around her neck for constant monitoring: specialists will track her movements, behaviour and adaptation using telemetry and camera traps. There are plans to release two or three more tigers in the coming months to create the foundation for a self-sustaining group.

However, success depends not only on the number of animals. Serious challenges remain in Buxa: a limited prey base, habitat fragmentation and the presence of villages in the reserve's core zone. In recent years, hundreds of hectares of grassland have been restored here and more than 800 ungulates released to boost prey numbers, but experts note that these measures may prove insufficient without further reduction of anthropogenic pressure.

The project fits into a broader picture: Buxa links the forests of Assam, Bhutan and northern Bengal, creating potential corridors for migration. The return of the tigers could not only strengthen the local ecosystem but also revive tourism in the Duars region, where forests, tea plantations and wildlife have traditionally coexisted.

The reintroduction of the tigress from Bihar shows how targeted efforts to relocate animals from thriving areas can set in motion the recovery of emptied landscapes — provided that the release is followed by systematic work to improve habitats and reduce human-wildlife conflict.