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15-hour road trip, then an IAF flight: Tigress heads to Buxa
Once declared fit for translocation, officials fitted her with a radio collar to monitor her movements and behaviour in her new habitat.
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: After spending nearly 15 hours on the road from Bihar, a three-year-old tigress took to the skies from Gorakhpur on Thursday afternoon — aboard a special Indian Air Force aircraft bound for West Bengal as part of an inter-state tiger conservation programme.
Rescued from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, the tigress was tracked and captured by forest officials and wildlife experts before undergoing a detailed health examination. Once declared fit for translocation, officials fitted her with a radio collar to monitor her movements and behaviour in her new habitat.
Gorakhpur airport was selected as the nearest suitable point for the onward journey. Forest officials and wildlife experts kept a close watch throughout the 15-hour road journey as they transported the tigress from Valmiki Tiger Reserve to the airport under tight security.
District forest officer Shivam Singh said the airlift occurred on Thursday afternoon after the Valmiki Tiger Reserve team gave the tigress a final health check. “All necessary precautions were taken during the transportation,” he said.
From Gorakhpur, the tigress was flown to West Bengal and will now be taken to Buxa Tiger Reserve. She will initially be housed in a soft-release enclosure, a protected area where an animal can gradually adjust to its new surroundings before being released into the forest.
Valmiki Tiger Reserve field director Gaurav Ojha said the translocation was carried out in coordination with forest officials, wildlife experts and veterinary teams. The radio collar will allow officials to track the tigress and study how she adapts to Buxa’s habitat.
The move aims to strengthen the tiger population in Buxa and reflects growing efforts by forest authorities to manage tiger populations through scientific translocation and cooperation between states. Forest and veterinary officials in Gorakhpur also assisted the teams and monitored the tigress during the road and air journey.
