Kolkata: Forest teams from Bengal and Assam have launched a coordinated operation to catch the Buxa tigress near Assam’s Raimona National Park after clearance from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) came on Monday afternoon, said sources.Confirming the development, Bengal forest minister Manoj Kumar Oraon said he was also leaving for the spot.The operation was suspended for the day after 7 pm. “It will start afresh early on Tuesday,” said an official.“The tigress was last located in the Lawdanga revenue village area in Dotma, approximately 33 km from Raimona National Park,” said a source. Forest personnel, along with researchers and trackers from Wildlife Institute of India (WII), had assembled at St Francis Xavier’s High School in Dotma for the operation.On Sunday, NTCA member-secretary Sanjay Kumar Pathak had confirmed that the authority had received a request from officials seeking permission to capture the tigress. “Before granting such permissions, we weigh all pros and cons. Our management focus is now more landscape-specific and not tiger-reserve-specific. We give such nods only when big cats continue to stay close to human habitations for a prolonged period,” he had said.The tigress crossed Sankosh into Assam around Oct 24-25 through Chowdhury Ghat and moved south towards Rajendrapur forest village before reaching Hatigarh. Her radio collar stopped transmitting late on Oct 28, triggering concern among forest officials. Signals resumed after more than 35 hours on the morning of Oct 30, when she was located at Narayanpur revenue village, around 18 km from Gosaigaon town.
