Guwahati: A tigress released in Buxa Tiger Reserve earlier this month has crossed into Assam, prompting the West Bengal government to prepare for its return.

Forest Minister Manoj Oraon is scheduled to visit Raimona National Park in Assam’s Kokrajhar district on October 31, Saturday, to assess the animal’s condition and decide how it can be brought back.

Identified as BTR-TF-1 (T-138), the three-year-old tigress was relocated from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released in Buxa on October 2. The move was part of West Bengal’s first tiger relocation project. On October 25, it crossed into Assam while looking for a suitable habitat.

Before the minister’s visit, forest personnel from the two states have been coordinating to keep track of the animal. Oraon said he would meet the officials in Raimona and settle on a course of action for tranquilising the tigress and transporting it to Buxa.

Its route into Assam took it across the Sankosh River and a road in Gosaigaon before it reached Raimona, officials said. Tracking records place the area it has covered so far around 25 km from the West Bengal border.

The authorities had initially chosen not to intervene. Forest teams from Assam and West Bengal, working with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), agreed to let the tigress roam the area and find a habitat. They are now making arrangements to take it back to Buxa.

According to Oraon, the animal remains healthy and has been hunting for prey.

The October 2 release in Buxa was attended by Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.

Adhikari said at the time that three additional tigers would be released in the reserve over the next two months. He said the project was expected to serve wildlife conservation and help expand tourism in the region.

Buxa was declared a tiger reserve in 1983, but no tigers have been reported in the area in recent years.

According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), efforts to revive the reserve have been underway since 2018 through the West Bengal government’s Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project, supported by the NTCA and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

Forest officials said the tigress’s movements and adjustment to its new surroundings would be monitored after its release. The monitoring will involve telemetry equipment, camera traps and regular field visits to assess its health and behaviour.