Augmentation program in Buxa tiger reserve

Why in news?

Recently National Tiger Conservation Authorityidentified Buxa tiger reserve in West Bengalfor the tiger augmentation programme.

What is the significance of Buxa tiger reserve?

It has notified as a tiger reserve in 1983, located in Alipurduar district of West Bengal, parts of which border Bhutan.
The reserve is located very close to Assam’s Manas Tiger Reserve.
Buxa consists of moist, deciduous and evergreen forests.
It is home to at least 68 species of mammals, 41 species of reptiles and more than 246 species of birds, four species of amphibians, 73 species of fishes and over a hundred species of butterflies and moths.
The herbivore list includes elephants, Indian gaur, chital, sambars, barking deer and hog deer.

How the augmentation program will be done?

Forest Department officials claimed there were tigers in the reserve, almost no sighting of the big cats raised questions about their presence.
The survey of tigers in 2011 based on DNA analyses of scat put the number of tigers at 20.
The initial plan is to introduce six tigers at Buxa.
Experts have consciously decided not to augment tigers in the Buxa reserve from the Sunderbans, a completely different mangrove ecosystem.
Instead, tigers from the forest reserves of Assam, which have a similar flora and fauna, will be introduced in Buxa.
Experts believes that tigers are migrating from nearer Manas wildlife sanctuary through Buxa-Bhutan corridor.

What are the challenges?

The introduction of tigers is a challenge to forest officials as there is human habitation in the area.
There are also common clouded leopards, jungle cats and fishing cats, which occasionally surface in the tea gardens nearby.
Chances of wild animals getting killed while crossing the tracks are high, as broad gauge rail line is passing through the reserve.
Tourist accommodationsrun by both the forest department and private operators, in the reserve possess high threat to tiger habitat.

Source: The Hindu