Buxa Tiger Reserve gets tigress T138 from Valmiki under tiger project
Why in the news
On 2 October 2026, tigress T138, shifted from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, was released in Buxa, West Bengal. It was the first release under the reintroduction programme and marked the start of Wildlife Week 2026.
Key facts
- Tigress: T138, sourced from Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar.
- Released by: Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
- Programme: the Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project, run by the West Bengal government since 2018 with the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
- Goal: a self-sustaining, viable tiger population rather than just a count of animals released.
- Monitoring: telemetry, camera traps and field tracking after release.
| Preparation work (2018-2026) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Chital (spotted deer) released for prey base | Over 800 |
| Grassland restored | About 380 hectares |
| Community/joint forest management committees | 64 |
About Buxa
Buxa in northern West Bengal was set up as a tiger reserve in 1983. Its forests link with those of Assam and Bhutan. It lacked a stable tiger population because of habitat loss and a thin prey base, though camera traps recorded tigers in 2021, 2023 and 2026, and movement between Buxa and Manas (Assam) has been noted.
Exam angle
- Source-destination pair: Valmiki (Bihar) to Buxa (West Bengal).
- NTCA and WII are the technical partners.
- Wildlife Week is observed from 2 October.