Forest teams from West Bengal and Assam on Tuesday captured “Dooars Rani,” a three-year-old tigress that had travelled nearly 100 km from West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve into Assam, ending a cross-border operation to track and rescue the big cat.
The tigress was captured at Gelaguri Gaon, about 10 km from Kokrajhar town in the Bodoland Territorial Council, after joint forest teams finally cornered her following repeated attempts to evade them. West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Oraon, who was present at the site, said the teams used four elephants and several excavators to surround the tigress, but she repeatedly outwitted them.
“Today, we searched for her for two hours straight but couldn’t find her. When we finally spotted her, we barricaded the area with elephants and excavators but still she managed to outwit us. Finally, our officers managed to corner her,” Oraon told reporters.
The capture brought relief to the teams after days of tracking the radio-collar-tagged tigress across Assam. She had crossed the Sankosh river on October 23 and entered Raimona National Park, apparently in search of a suitable territory. After entering Assam, she was first spotted near Hatigarh village, where she killed three domesticated pigs and four piglets, according to forest officials.
Her movements prompted a coordinated effort by the forest departments of both states to track and capture her. The operation intensified on Tuesday, with the Assam Forest Department preparing excavators and tranquiliser guns after the National Tiger Conservation Authority cleared the capture plan. The Kokrajhar district administration also declared a five-kilometre radius around Gelaguri village a prohibited zone, citing potential risks to human life and livestock and concerns that public gatherings could obstruct the operation.
With the tigress finally cornered, Oraon thanked the people and authorities in Assam for their assistance, saying the team had received extensive cooperation throughout its search. “Today, we will get our Dooars Rani home,” he said. “I want to thank the people of Assam for their immense cooperation. We travelled for so many days in Assam and the administration and the Forest Department helped us every way they could,” he added.
The tigress was brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve and released into Buxa Tiger Reserve on October 2 by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari as part of efforts to establish a resident tiger population in the reserve.
Original Source: https://assamtribune.com/assam/dooars-rani-captured-in-assams-kokrajhar-after-outwitting-forest-teams-for-hours-1621984
Category: Assam,Featured
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Publish Date: 2026-11-03 19:24:00
