Alipurduar, Oct. 4 -- The three-year-old Royal Bengal tigress brought to Buxa from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve has shown no hurry to enter the reserve's vast forest. Although Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Union Environment and Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav opened the gate of her nearly 2.2-hectare enclosure near 25 Mile at 10 am on Friday, the tigress remained inside until Sunday afternoon, gradually familiarising herself with the new surroundings.
At times, she rests under the shade of trees, while at others she cools herself in the water. Forest officials said adequate food and water have been arranged inside the enclosure and there is no hurry to move her out. She will be allowed to leave only when she chooses to do so. Experts said the tigress, being only three years old, had a relatively limited range in Valmiki Tiger Reserve, with her movements largely confined to two or three forest compartments. She may therefore need time to develop the habit of covering longer distances across Buxa's vast forest landscape.
The tigress has also had to recover from tranquiliser darts twice in recent days-once before being brought to Buxa and again after reaching the reserve. Officials are consequently allowing her sufficient time to return to normal behaviour and adjust to the new habitat.
The enclosure is currently providing her with a safe space to become accustomed to the smells, sounds, water and vegetation of Buxa. Officials said she may remain inside for another two or three days, and there is no objection to that. A senior Buxa Tiger Reserve official said, "The tigress is doing absolutely fine."
To ensure a disturbance-free environment, tourism and all tourism-related activities in Buxa Tiger Reserve have been suspended until October 9.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.