Context: Recently, a Royal Bengal tiger has been observed in West Bengal’s Buxa National Park.
- The previous sighting of Tiger was after 23 years on December 12, 2021.
Potential Reasons for Tiger’s Comeback:
- Increase in Prey Base of Tigers
- Expansion of the Grassland
- Controlling Human Interaction
- Initiatives to curb infiltration and trespassing
About Buxa Tiger Reserve
- Location: Buxa Tiger Reserve is located in North Bengal’s Alipurduar district. Its Northern boundary runs along the border with Bhutan.
- Establishment: It was created in 1983 as the 15th Tiger Reserve of India and was declared as a National Park in January 1992.
- In 2018, the “Tiger augmentation and monitoring project” was introduced in Buxa by the state forest department, Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
- Main Flowing Rivers: Sankosh, Raidak, Jayanti, Churnia, Turturi, Phashkhawa, Dima and Nonani.
- Types of Vegetation: Moist Tropical Forest
- Few Available Species: Indian Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), Leopard (Panthera pardus), Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Jungle Cat (Felis chaus) etc.
Conservation Status of Tiger
- Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List: Endangered
- Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I.
Read More: About All India Tiger Estimation 2022
News Source: The Indian Express