NTCA team probes allegation of miscarriage by Buxa tigress after return from Assam

A team from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is investigating allegations that a tigress in West Bengal's Buxa Tiger Reserve suffered a miscarriage while being brought back from neighbouring Assam, Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said on November 13.

The three-year-old tigress was brought to Buxa in Alipurduar district from Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve on October 2. It later strayed into the adjoining Raimona forest in Assam, where forest officials captured it using a tranquiliser dart before bringing it 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.

He said the state government was awaiting the NTCA's findings and would take appropriate steps based on the expert team's recommendations.

Responding to questions about the tigress being transported over a long distance from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve, the minister said all precautions had been taken and veterinarians had been monitoring the animal since its arrival in 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, Oraon said.

Trained elephants have been deployed at several locations to monitor the tigress's movements and prevent it from straying into Assam again, he added.

Meanwhile, wildlife expert Joydip Kundu had questioned the decision to tranquilise the tigress before bringing it back from Assam.