Guwahati, November 3: The forest officials from both West Bengal and Assam on Tuesday captured “Dooars Rani”, a three-year-old tigress that travelled nearly 100 km from West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve into Assam, ending a cross-border operation to track and rescue the big cat after a month.
The tigress was captured at Gelaguri Gaon, around 10 km from Kokrajhar town in the Bodoland Territorial Council, after joint forest teams finally managed to corner her following repeated attempts to evade them.
The tigress had crossed the Sankosh river on October 23 and entered Raimona National Park, apparently in search of a suitable territory.
Tigress Spotted Near Assam Village
After entering Assam, she was first spotted near Hatigarh village, where she had killed three domesticated pigs and four piglets, according to forest officials.
As the reports were received by the forest department, the BTC, led by EM Jems Basumatary, immediately took all precautions. The DFO of Kasugaon Range, Mustafa Ahmed, camped at the Raimona National Park and monitored the rescue operation smoothly without any disturbance to human populations since October 23.
Forest Teams Deploy Elephants And Excavators
West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Oraon, who was present at the site, said the teams deployed four elephants and several excavators to surround the tigress, but she repeatedly outwitted them.
“Today, we searched for her for two hours straight but couldn’t find her. When we finally spotted her, we barricaded the area with elephants and excavators, but still she managed to outwit us. Finally, our officers managed to corner her,” Oraon told reporters.
The capture brought relief to the teams after days of tracking the radio-collar-tagged tigress across Assam.
Her movements prompted a coordinated effort by the forest departments of both states to track and capture her.
NTCA Clears Tigress Capture Operation
The operation intensified on Tuesday, with the Assam Forest Department preparing excavators and tranquiliser guns after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) cleared the capture plan.
The Kokrajhar district administration also declared a five-kilometre radius around Gelaguri village a prohibited zone, citing potential risks to human life and livestock and concerns that public gatherings could obstruct the operation.
Minister Thanks Assam For Cooperation
With the tigress finally cornered, Oraon expressed gratitude to the people and authorities in Assam for their assistance, saying the team had received extensive cooperation throughout its search.
“Today, we will get our Dooars Rani home,” he said.
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“I want to thank the people of Assam for their immense cooperation. We travelled for so many days in Assam, and the administration and the Forest Department helped us every way they could,” he added.
Tigress Previously Released Into Buxa Reserve
The tigress was brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released into Buxa Tiger Reserve on October 2 by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari as part of efforts to establish a resident tiger population in the reserve.
