Alipurduar: Serious questions has started being raised about the tiger relocation programme at West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) after it came to be known that officials were unaware that the tigress, relocated from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, was pregnant.
The matter came to light only after the tigress – named Dooars Rani – aborted three foetuses.
The three-year-old tigress was brought to BTR with the hope of helping revive north Bengal’s tiger population. Soon after reaching Buxa, Dooars Rani (T-138) escaped to neighbouring Assam. After being brought back, she again escaped from an enclosure.
T-138 was captured and sedated in Valmiki Tiger Reserve before being transported to Buxa between September 29 and October 2. Her pregnancy, however, reportedly went undetected during the pre-translocation medical examinations, despite a team of six veterinarians and experts being involved in her health screening.
She aborted the foetuses, estimated to be about two months old on the night of November 7, an official told NDTV.
One of those present during the tigress’ capture and subsequent health screening expressed surprise and told the channel that when she was selected in the wild, it was undetectable.
The 17-hour journey from Bihar to BTR was far from smooth. She reportedly underwent two sedations during the transit. Later, she travelled more than 100 kilometres, crossing into Assam’s Raimona National Park, before being tracked down, captured and brought back to West Bengal.
While the West Bengal government has not issued an official statement, the foetuses have been preserved for examination. Both a central inquiry team and a state-level panel are now examining the circumstances surrounding the translocation and the subsequent developments.
The question being raised is whether the stress of capture, repeated sedation, transportation and recapture may have contributed to the pregnancy loss. While no causal link has yet been established, the sequence of events has prompted concerns about the safeguards followed during the operation.
Questions are also being raised about whether the project was rushed to meet a deadline. Preparations for the translocation had been moving at a languid pace for some time before suddenly gathering momentum, with the apparent objective of bringing the tigress to Buxa by October 2.