Alipurduar, Nov. 3 -- After hours of waiting and a challenging capture operation, the Buxa tigress BTR TF-1 was finally tranquilised shortly before sunset on Tuesday in Assam's Kokrajhar district. Following a medical examination, the tigress is being transported back to Buxa Tiger Reserve in a specially equipped ambulance. It will initially be kept in an open enclosure under the supervision of forest officials.

Forest minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said: "For nearly two to three hours, it was a cat-and-mouse game. Eventually, we managed to capture the tigress. I thank the Assam government, the Buxa Forest department and the technical team whose collective efforts made the operation successful. The tigress will be transported to Buxa shortly."

The operation was jointly conducted by the Forest departments of Assam and Bengal, with technical assistance from experts, following approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

Preparations for the operation had been underway since Monday after the tigress was spotted near Gelaguri village in the Dotma area of Kokrajhar district. On Tuesday morning, forest personnel launched an operation to tranquilise and capture the animal. However, its proximity to human settlements made the task particularly challenging, with officials having to ensure public safety while carefully administering the tranquiliser dart.

Ahead of the operation, Kokrajhar District Magistrate Pankaj Chakraborty imposed prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The order prohibited gatherings of five or more people, unauthorised entry into the forest, drone flights, bursting of firecrackers, use of loudspeakers and searching for the tigress with torches or flashlights.

An area within a five-kilometre radius of Gelaguri village was also declared a restricted and buffer zone. Permission from the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) was made mandatory for taking photographs or videos of the capture operation.

Two kumki elephants were transported from Buxa on trucks to assist the teams. After waiting for temperatures to drop, the operation began at around 3.30 pm. Following nearly two hours of efforts, the tigress was successfully tranquilised at approximately 5.30 pm.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.