A three-year-old Royal Bengal tigress, officially identified as BTR-TF-1 (also called T-138) and affectionately nicknamed “Dooars Rani” or “Rani”, has become a major headline-maker for West Bengal’s ambitious
tiger reintroduction programme by repeatedly breaking out of her enclosures and fleeing toward neighbouring Assam.
THE ESCAPE TIMELINE
September 30: The Arrival – Originally brought from Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, she was airlifted to Alipurduar and placed in the Buxa Tiger Reserve to help repopulate the area.
October 2: The First Release – She was officially released into a soft enclosure in the forest.
Late October: The Grand Escape – Rani quickly moved out of the designated area, crossed the Sankosh River, and walked over 100 kilometres into Assam’s Raimona National Park. She began straying close to human settlements in the Kokrajhar district, killing domestic livestock.
November 3: The First Capture – After a massive, 13-day joint operation involving West Bengal and Assam forest officials and tracking elephants, she was tranquilised and brought back to a secure Buxa enclosure.
November 8: The Tunnel Breakout – Barely four to five days after being returned, she shocked foresters by demonstrating that tigers can tunnel! Rani dug a hole through the earth right beneath the foundation of her concrete enclosure wall and slipped out into the wild again, say reports.
WHY DOES SHE KEEP FLEEING TO ASSAM?
Forest officials and wildlife experts have two primary theories for her persistent flight eastward:
- The “Scent” of Love: Some officials speculate that during her initial trek into the forests of Assam, she may have encountered or formed a bond with a male tiger. She is believed to be following the scent marks left by him, drawing her right back to the Bengal-Assam border.
- Natural Exploration: Other experts point out that as a young, translocated tiger, it is completely in her nature to map out a massive territory and explore her new surroundings rather than staying confined to a man-made fence, says News18 Bangla and other reports.
Current Status
A red alert has been issued across the region. A team of over 60 trained forest personnel, alongside tracking elephants, are currently using signals from her high-frequency radio collar to trace her moving eastward along the forest corridors.
With agency inputs
