Kolkata: Days after being traced to Assam and brought back, Royal Bengal tigress ‘Rani’ escaped again from Buxa Tiger Reserve in northern West Bengal’s Alipurduar district, Forest Department officials said on Monday.
A few days ago, the tigress was brought back from Assam with great fanfare after its first escape. However, less than five days later, the tigress escaped from Buxa forest again, evading surveillance.
A search has already begun for the tigress. Simultaneously, a red alert has been issued.
The incident began on September 27 when a three-year-old tigress from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve was subdued by firing tranquilliser bullets and airlifted to Hasimara Air Force Base in Alipurduar on September 30. The airlift was carried out by an IM-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force. After landing at Hasimara Air Force Station, two wildlife doctors and tiger experts examined all the physical parameters of the tigress for more than an hour. After that, she was taken by road to the Buxa Tiger Reserve.
This initiative was taken as part of a plan to increase the number of tigers in north Bengal and establish a permanent settlement for tigers in the Buxa jungle.
On October 5, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav informed that the Royal Bengal tigress was released into the jungle. Later that month, the tigress escaped, crossing the Sankosh River to reach the Raimona National Park of Assam.
Initially, the Forest Department did not want to interfere with the natural movement of the tigress. Later, concerns arose about her presence near the locality and the safety of domestic animals.
State Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon himself went to Assam to bring the tigress back.
Finally, on November 3, in a joint operation by the West Bengal and Assam Forest Departments in Assam’s Kokrajhar district, the tigress was surrounded with the help of three elephants. After an about two-hour operation, she was subdued by firing tranquilisers, brought back to Alipurduar in a box, and put back into an enclosure. However, on Sunday afternoon, the tigress escaped from the enclosure again.
(IANS)
