Royal Bengal tigress Rani escaped again from Buxa Tiger Reserve in northern West Bengal on Monday.
Forest Department officials confirmed the incident, noting that the big cat evaded surveillance less than five days after returning.
Officials had brought Rani back from Assam with great fanfare just days ago following her first escape.
Search teams immediately began tracking the tigress, while authorities issued a red alert across the Alipurduar district.
The relocation saga began on September 27 when wildlife teams tranquillised the three-year-old tigress in Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve.
On September 30, an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter airlifted Rani to the Hasimara Air Force Base in Alipurduar.
Two wildlife doctors and tiger experts examined her physical parameters for over an hour at the station.
Teams then transported her by road to the Buxa Tiger Reserve to boost north Bengal’s tiger population.
Authorities launched this initiative to establish a permanent tiger settlement inside the Buxa jungle.
On October 5, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav announced that officials released the tigress into the wild.
Later that month, Rani crossed the Sankosh River and entered Assam’s Raimona National Park.
Initially, the Forest Department avoided interfering with the tigress’s natural movement across the border.
However, her proximity to human settlements soon sparked serious concerns regarding the safety of local domestic animals.
State Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon personally travelled to Assam to oversee the rescue mission.
On November 3, West Bengal and Assam forest teams launched a joint operation in Assam’s Kokrajhar district.
Using three elephants, teams surrounded Rani, tranquillised her after two hours, and returned her to a Buxa enclosure.
Despite tight security, the elusive tigress broke out of that enclosure once again on Sunday afternoon.
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