Kolkata: In what could be the first such instance in many years, spotted deer alarm calls were sounded in Buxa Tiger Reserve as the reintroduced tigress walked out of her enclosure on Sunday, signalling the return of a predator that the forest’s prey might not have encountered in years.The three-year-old tigress, brought to Buxa from Bihar’s Valmiki, walked out of her 2.2-hectare enclosure around 4.50 pm, two days after the doors were opened.Foresters had decided not to rush the tigress into the wild and instead allowed her to acclimatise to the surroundings. “She walked out casually and sprayed on a tree along the way,” a source said.The tigress is being closely monitored through a GPS-enabled radio collar. Ground teams are tracking her using a very high frequency (VHF) transmitter. It will alert foresters if she approaches or crosses the forest boundary.The enclosure lies in the reserve’s core area, with villages such as 28 Mile and Jayanti located around 8-12km away.Officials believe the tigress’s shy nature could reduce the immediate risk of human-animal conflict. During her capture in Valmiki, it took several days for her to kill the bait calf, approaching it cautiously when she eventually made the kill, said a source. Even on the day of her official release, she stayed deep inside the enclosure, pointing to the fact that she avoids humans, said the source.
