West Bengal plans to capture Doars Rani tigress in Assam
Forest Minister Manoj Oraon said the tigress will be caged to prevent disturbance from crackers during Kali Puja and Diwali.
The West Bengal Government announced on Saturday that it plans to capture the Doars Rani tigress and bring it back after it strayed into Assam last week. According to The Indian Express, the tigress travelled 100 km from the Buxa Tiger Reserve and entered Raimona National Park in Assam.
Forest Minister Manoj Oraon said the Assam government would write to the National Tiger Conservation Authority for permission to cage the animal. He stated that the decision to capture the tigress was made because it is located near human habitats and has killed three domesticated pigs and four piglets.
Oraon told reporters that the upcoming Kali Puja and Diwali festivals would involve people bursting crackers, which would disturb the tigress. He added that the tigress is safe and its location is known, having been located near Narayanpur village in Kokrajhar district.
The tigress was originally brought from Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar and released into Buxa on October 2 as part of a relocation programme. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had released the animal from a soft enclosure at that time.
Forest department teams from both Bengal and Assam are currently stationed in the area with trap door cages and tranquiliser guns. Oraon said operations to capture and cage the tiger would start from Sunday.