More than 80 spotted deer were released in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar on Friday.
Buxa is being developed because of a plan to introduce tigers in the reserve, said forest officials.
“On Friday, we released 86 spotted deer in Buxa. The deer were brought from Ballabhpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Birbhum. It is part of a prey-base augmentation exercise. We already have a stable population of barking deer, gaur, sambar, wild boar,” said an official of Buxa Tiger Reserve.
In December 2021, a camera trap clicked a tiger in Buxa, the first recorded tiger sighting in more than two decades.
Created as the 15th tiger reserve of India, BTR, which is spread over 760sqkm, shares boundaries with the forests of Bhutan and Assam.
Tigers were believed to have moved out of Buxa with a depletion of the herbivore prey base.
In 2019, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) published the All India Tiger Estimation, 2018, in which no tigers were recorded in Buxa.
The report suggested that tigers could be reintroduced in Buxa after the restoration of the ecosystem and prey base.
The restoration of the ecosystem also involves relocation of around 200 families from two villages in the core areas. The state forest department has finalised a plan to relocate over 200 families from two villages in the core areas of the reserve.
“We will give them monetary compensation. The proposal is almost final. It is with the NTCA now,” said a forest official in Bengal.
Forest officials in Bengal were tight-lipped about a possible date by which tigers were expected to be brought to Buxa.
Sources said the plan was to bring tigers from neighbouring Assam.
“The decision to bring tigers to Buxa was taken a few years ago. Kaziranga and Orang forests in Assam have a high tiger density. The plan is to bring tigers from one of these places,” said a forest official.
The number of tigers in Assam grew from 70 in 2006 to 190 in 2018, according to the previous national tiger census. “It is certain that tigers will be brought to Buxa. But as of now, I can’t say when,” said Debal Ray, chief wildlife warden of Bengal.
Turtles rescued
Twelve turtles were seized from two youths here on Sunday after an animal protection activist found flies buzzing around a bag the duo were carrying.
The seized Indian flapshell turtle is a vulnerable species, said sources. The youths — Anil Kumar Sahani and Amit Kumar, both from Bihar — have been arrested.
“Two youths were standing at Siliguri More (a prominent crossing) of the town with a bag. I saw that flies were buzzing around a bag and suspected there might be something unusual in it. I approached on-duty traffic policemen, who intercepted the duo and opened the bag. We found turtles inside,” said Gautam Tantia, secretary of the Raiganj branch of the People for Animals. The turtles were handed to the officers of the Kulik wildlife range.