Buxa Tiger Reserve

About Buxa Tiger Reserve

• Buxa Tiger Reserve is situated in the Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal. 
  • It is located at the confluence of three major bio-geographic zones: The lower Gangetic plains, Central Himalayas and the Brahmaputra valley.
• Corridor connectivity: It has corridor connectivity across the border with the forests of Bhutan in the North, on the East it has linkages with the Kochugaon forests, Manas Tiger Reserve and on the West with the Jaldapara National Park. 
  • Important corridors are Buxa-Chilapata Corridor, Buxa-Titi Corridor and Buxa-Ripu Corridor.
• Establish year: It was notified under Project Tiger in 1983 as the 15th tiger reserve in India.
• Total Area: 760.87 sq. km.
• Associated River: It is crossed by major rivers like the Sankosh, Raidak, Jayanti, and Dima.
• Vegetation: It is covered mainly by moist tropical forests.
• Flora: The forest is dominated by Sal, Champa, Gamar and Simul trees.
• Fauna: Elephants, Tiger, Gaur, Sambar, Chital, Wild boar, Leopards, Clouded leopards, Dhole and Red jungle fowl are found here..
  • Species such as the Hill Myna, Crested Serpent Eagle, Black Francolin, Hornbills, and various species of waterfowl are found in the reserve.
• Tribes: Various tribes such as Rawas, Mechs, Santhals, Oraos and Garos live around the region. 

About Tiger Reintroduction Programme

• Under the Phased Tiger Reintroduction Programme initiation, a tigress was translocated from Valmiki Tiger Reserve to Buxa Tiger Reserve.
• Aim: It aimed at restoring a viable and self-sustaining tiger population in this historically important tiger landscape.
• Objective: Its objective is to create the conditions in which a tiger population can establish, breed and ultimately become viable and self-sustaining.
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
• The programme is being implemented in a planned, phased and adaptive manner, based on scientific assessments.