Kolkata: You have heard of a ‘jailbreak,’ but have you heard of a ‘cage break’? An incident has been reported in Kolkata where a tiger managed to outsmart the staff and escape.
A tiger, captured in Assam and brought to the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, has escaped after just four days. The three-year-old female tiger dug a tunnel beneath the enclosure where she was being held and has headed back toward Assam.
A tiger reintroduction project has been launched in the Buxa forests of West Bengal with the aim of increasing the tiger population. As part of this initiative, this female tiger was brought from the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar and released into the forest area at ’25th Mile’ in Buxa on October 2nd.
However, on October 4th, she managed to get out of the enclosure and traveled to the Raimona forest area in Assam. For about a month, forest department personnel had been monitoring her movements.
Officials grew concerned when no signals were received for over 32 hours from the radio collar attached to the tiger’s neck. Subsequently, when the signal was detected, it was revealed that the animal was moving through various regions of Assam. In some instances, it was even spotted near human settlements.
Against this backdrop, personnel from the Forest Departments of West Bengal and Assam conducted a joint operation. On November 3, they tranquilized and captured the tiger at Gilaguri, in the Dotma area near Raimona National Park in Assam. It was then brought back to Buxa and placed within a special enclosure spanning 2.2 hectares.
However, the tiger escaped once again on Sunday afternoon, around 1:30 PM. According to Forest Department sources, the animal managed to get out by digging a hole beneath the foundation of the enclosure. It is reported that the tiger, now heading towards Assam, has also crossed the Bala River. If it continues along its previous route, it will need to cross the Jayanti and Raidak rivers before reaching the Sankosh River. From there, it could potentially move towards Assam or Bhutan.
Tranquilized three times in a single month:
A concerning detail is that the Forest Department has already had to tranquilize this female tiger three times in an attempt to capture her. She was first captured on September 29 in the Valmiki Forest of Bihar. Since the radio collar had come off during its transport to Buxa, the tiger was tranquilized once again on October 1st, and a new collar was fitted.
Subsequently, on November 3rd, it was captured for a third time in the Raimona forest area of Assam. Its escape yet again—within just four days—has become a major headache for Forest Department officials. Originally identified as T-138, the tiger was later renamed BTR-TF1.
Responding to the question of whether it is possible for a tiger to dig a hole beneath an enclosure to escape, a former scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India explained that if the foundation of an enclosure is not constructed properly, large animals could potentially find a way out from underneath. This incident has raised fresh questions regarding the security of enclosures built under tiger reintroduction projects, as well as the challenges involved in keeping wild animals contained within a specific area.