Tigress Digs Tunnel To Escape From West Bengal Reserve For Second Time

A Royal Bengal Tiger brought from Bihar has escaped from a West Bengal reserve by digging a tunnel using her paws, marking the second time she has fled in a matter of days. Forest officials discovered the empty concrete enclosure on Sunday afternoon and found the tunnel at the site. The tigress, named Rani, was originally released into the Buxa Tiger Reserve on October 5 as part of an effort to grow the local tiger population. Just two weeks later, she escaped for the first time. After a 13-day search, forest officials found her on November 3 near a river close to the Raimona Tiger Reserve in Assam, brought her back the next day, and kept her in an enclosure near the 25-mile tower in Buxa.

Search Operations

Following her second escape, forest authorities stepped up search operations and deployed about 60 forest department staff members along with three kumki elephants to track her down. Officials noted that she has likely traveled a long distance by now and her radio collar signals are no longer reaching them. Forest officials stated that tigers digging tunnels like this is extremely rare. They also suspect that Rani may have escaped to return to a male tiger she bonded with in the forests of Assam.

Context

Radio collars are tracking tools fitted on wild animals to help researchers and forest departments monitor their movements and safety from a distance. Kumki elephants are trained captive elephants used by forest departments in India to rescue wild animals, patrol difficult terrain, and carry personnel during search operations.