Tiger Reintroduction in Buxa: A Shift from Preventive to Reactive Conservation

Gist The relocation of a tigress from Bihar to West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve marks the beginning of an ambitious reintroduction programme by wildlife authorities. This intervention was triggered after the reserve recorded zero tigers in 2018, primarily due to severe habitat degradation, vanishing prey bases, and fragmented migration corridors. While showcased as a technical achievement, the move highlights a concerning shift in India's wildlife strategy from preventing ecological decline to executing expensive, reactive rescues that often marginalise forest-dwelling communities to create "inviolate" core habitats. Background The National Tiger Conservation Authority NTCA , in collaboration with the Bengal Forest Department and the Wildlife Institute of India WII , leads this reintroduction initiative. The project was mooted after a 2018 assessment revealed that three reserves— Buxa , Dampa , and Palamau —had completely lost their tiger populations. Since its inception in 1973 , India’s conservation approach primarily focused on preventive measures: securing source populations, habitats, prey bases, and wildlife corridors before populations collapsed. In recent years, a reactive tradition has emerged, where the state machinery intervenes heavily only after a local…