Debarshi Biswas, a resident from Dum Dum, and his family members were dumbstruck to see the majestic black-yellow striped big cat for a few seconds during a tour in the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) on Thursday.
Located in Alipurduar district in the backdrop of the Bhutan hills, the BTR is the sole tiger reserve in north Bengal and second in Bengal after the Sunderbans.
Unlike the Sunderbans, the sighting of the royal Bengal tiger at Buxa was reported by tourists for almost two-and-a-half decades.
“It was like a dream coming true. We had heard that recently, photos of the tiger were clicked in the Buxa but we never thought we would be able to see it in the forest. We had this experience on the afternoon of January 25,” said Biswas.
For almost two decades, no presence of tigers was felt in the BTR. This made the state forest department draw up a plan in consultation with the Union ministry of environment and forests and the National Tiger Conservation Authority to plan a reintroduction of tigers in the reserve.
The work to build a steady prey base for the predator began in the BTR and hundreds of herbivores were released. Also, initiatives were taken to maintain adequate grasslands for herbivores.
In 2021, the photo of a tiger was clicked by a trap camera installed in the BTR. Last year and even this year, more photos were clicked.
“Although the photos were clicked and pugmarks were found, no tourist had reported tiger sightings until Thursday. It is indeed great news and reaffirms the tiger’s presence in BTR,” said Apurba Sen, the field director of BTR.
Nitu Bhattacharya, the family's guide during the safari, was equally enthusiastic.
“We were so speechless that we couldn’t even take out our phones to click pictures. The tiger could be seen for hardly a few seconds. but for me, it was the experience of a lifetime. It was a large tiger,” said Bhattacharya, who has been working as a guide for around 20 years in the BTR.
The direct sighting of a royal Bengal tiger in the BTR by tourists has prompted foresters to intensify vigil across the reserve.
“We have formed a rapid response team to monitor the tiger’s activities. We are hopeful that the tiger will soon settle in the BTR,” said Parveen Kaswan, the deputy field director (west) of BTR.