Buxa Tiger Reserve Receives Its First Reintroduced Tigress, Flown In from Bihar's Valmiki
A three-year-old Bengal tigress, T138, was released into Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal on 30 September 2026, the first tiger reintroduction the reserve has seen after decades without a resident breeding population. The roughly 150 kg animal came from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve and carries a satellite collar with a VHF link. Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav oversaw the release during Wildlife Week, observed 2-8 October, with the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India supporting. Two more tigers are identified for transfer. Buxa, notified a tiger reserve in 1983, spans about 760 sq km in the Dooars.
Project Tiger was launched in 1973 and the National Tiger Conservation Authority was constituted in 2005 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 | Valmiki Tiger Reserve is Bihar's only tiger reserve, in West Champaran district | The Wildlife Institute of India, set up in 1982, is based at Dehradun