Where have all the Buxa tigers gone?

KOLKATA: Is Buxa going the Sariska way? The presence of 19 big cats in the north Bengal tiger reserve, as claimed by the foresters, may well be a ‘bloated’ figure and if not, then they will have to give photographic evidences to the Project Tiger to back their claims.


Expressing doubts on tiger presence in the park, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) officials and members have finally turned the heat on Bengal foresters at its technical committee meeting in Delhi recently.

“A scat-analysis report pegged the presence of 19 tigers in the park a couple of years back. But there is no photographic evidence. We have asked them to take help of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for an extensive camera-trap study in the park before making such claims,” said P K Sen, member, NTCA.

Though, there are speculations that the park may lose its share of central funds, NTCA deputy inspector general S P Yadav confirmed that nothing of that sort would happen at the moment. Sources said in a recent trip to Buxa, the NTCA officials made it clear to the park authorities that the central body won’t buy any theory on tiger presence without photographic evidence.

Amid the tension between the state and Centre, many have started drawing parallels of Buxa with Rajasthan’s Sariska when the latter was about to lose its tiger reserve status a few years back. Though Ranthambore turned out to be Sariska’s saviour then with the Rajasthan government scripting a ‘successful’ relocation programme, Buxa doesn’t have such scope either.

Earlier, the NTCA had planned to introduce orphaned or abandoned tiger cubs to low-density reserves like Buxa. But, experts believe that another state may not be willing to part with its cub for Bengal’s Buxa, despite its location—in the heart of a giant forest corridor extending to Assam in the east and Bhutan in the north. Sunderbans, the other tiger reserve in the state, doesn’t have a habitat similar to Buxa.

“What’s the point in such relocation? Buxa won’t be able to hold on to its tiger population ever. Courtesy, human pressure. In the 80s, when we used to take a drive from Hatipota to Maynabari, on way to Bhutanghat, there used to be dense forests on both sides of the road. Now, the area is dotted with human settlements,” said conservationist Mrinal Chatterjee.