Eight years of grassland, prey and village relocation work preceded the Buxa tiger release
2 October 2026
The tigress released at Buxa Tiger Reserve on 2 October 2026 was first held in an acclimatisation enclosure of 2.3 hectares and was fitted with a radio collar for tracking. Tigers had disappeared from Buxa by the late 1990s. The reintroduction proposal was cleared by a National Tiger Conservation Authority steering committee in 2016-17, and about eight years of study and habitat work followed. More than 800 chital were released to rebuild the prey base and about 380 hectares of grassland were restored. Two villages have been voluntarily relocated and one more relocation is under way, with 11 villages still in the core area. Families are offered a package of Rs 15 lakh or 8 decimals of land. Two or three more tigers are planned for release in phases, and a decade-old proposal put a viable population at at least six tigers. West Bengal's Forest Minister is Manoj Oraon.
In plain words
Core area Core or critical tiger habitat — The inner zone of a tiger reserve kept free of human use so that breeding tigers are undisturbed.
Decimal Decimal (unit of land area) — A land measure used in eastern India equal to one hundredth of an acre.
Chital Spotted deer — A common Indian deer that is a principal prey species for tigers.