Kolkata, Nov 13 West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon on Friday said the state forest department had no information about the alleged discovery of three foetuses of the Buxa tigress, adding that a National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) team was probing the circumstances surrounding its escape to Assam.
The three-year-old tigress was brought to Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar district from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve on October 2.
It subsequently strayed into the adjoining Raimona forest in Assam, where it was captured using a tranquiliser dart and brought back to Buxa on November 4.
“An NTCA team from Delhi is probing how it escaped from the forest and reached Assam. We brought it back keeping the NTCA in the loop,” Oraon told PTI.
“There is no question of any probe into the alleged miscarriage as we have not seen any foetuses. Veterinarians are closely monitoring the condition of the big cat at Buxa, and I have posted its photograph on social media showing it in good health,” he said.
The minister said the state government would take appropriate steps based on the NTCA findings regarding the handling of the tigress, its housing arrangements, and the circumstances surrounding its escape and return.
Asked about the tigress travelling a long distance from 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 here.”
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)
