Kolkata: The next phase of tiger relocation to Buxa will be taken up only after two additional enclosures are built, the existing one is reinforced and forest staff receive further training and field experience, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member secretary Sanjay Kumar Pathak said on Friday. The decision follows a fact-finding mission to Buxa after the tigress brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve miscarried and then breached the enclosure.The findings have raised questions about whether Buxa was adequately prepared for the project or whether it was implemented in haste. The NTCA team found two foetuses, estimated to be around two months old, inside the enclosure after the miscarriage on Nov 7, a day before the tigress escaped. “One was almost fully eaten by the tigress, while the other was recovered,” Pathak said.Experts say a tigress may consume a miscarried or dead foetus as an instinctive predator-avoidance response, to keep its remains and scent from attracting other predators or scavengers. Hormonal changes linked to pregnancy loss, coupled with stress, may also trigger such behaviour.Sources said Union environment and forests minister Bhupender Yadav is keeping a watch on developments.“We have ordered the setting up of two more enclosures to house tigers before their reintroduction and reinforcement of the existing one, which had glitches. Meanwhile, the staff are gaining experience while tracking this tigress. The next phase will be taken up at an ideal time,” Pathak said.He clarified that the tigress had not dug a burrow to escape. The inquiry identified gaps in the enclosure, particularly near one of its two gates, through which she managed to squeeze out. According to initial findings, fencing wires at some locations were anchored to concrete foundations, while at others they were fixed directly to the ground. At one such spot near a gate, the fastening was inadequate, allowing the tigress to flee.Work to reinforce the enclosure has already started.Asked when the next tiger would be brought to Buxa and from which reserve, Pathak said: “The staff need training and infrastructure needs to be strengthened first.”The NTCA team also discussed coordination across state and international boundaries. Pathak said Assam forest officials had been asked to improve coordination with their Bengal counterparts. The authority was also in touch with Bhutan through the Global Tiger Forum and the International Big Cat Alliance.The tigress, he said, is within Buxa Tiger Reserve limits. Sources said a camera trap captured her in the forest early on Thursday.Asked whether any disciplinary action would follow, Pathak said: “This is a fact-finding mission, not a fault-finding one. The probe is still on.”
