Kolkata, Nov 13 West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon on Friday said a team from the National Tiger Conservation Authority is investigating an allegation that a tigress at the Buxa reserve suffered a miscarriage while being brought back from neighbouring Assam.
The three-year-old tigress was brought to Buxa in Alipurduar district from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve on October 2. It subsequently strayed into the adjacent Raimona forest in Assam, where it was captured using a tranquiliser dart and brought back to Buxa on November 4.
“The state forest department does not have any information about the finding of three foetuses of the Buxa tigress. An NTCA team from Delhi is probing the allegation. Veterinarians are closely monitoring the condition of the big cat at the Buxa reserve,” Oraon told PTI.
The government is waiting for NTCA findings and will take appropriate steps as guided by the expert team, he said.
Asked about the tigress having travelled a long distance from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Oraon said, “Every precaution was taken to bring her to Buxa. Veterinarians have been monitoring her condition ever since she was brought to Buxa.”
The tigress is currently in the core area of Buxa forest, around 30 km from Assam’s Raimona forest and nearly 10 km from the Bhutan border, he said.
“We have deployed trained elephants at several locations in the area to monitor her movements and prevent her from straying into Assam again,” the minister said.
Speaking to reporters, wildlife expert Joydip Kundu had questioned the decision to tranquilise the tigress before bringing her back from Assam.
(PTI News)
