Some tiger reserves in India are crowded with tigers. Others have almost none. Can people move tigers from the first kind to the second?
India has tried since 2008. Some attempts worked well. One was suspended. This lesson explains why, how and where, with the facts up to 31 October 2026.
- Reintroduction: bringing tigers back to a place where tigers were wiped out.
- 2005: a CBI team told the Prime Minister that Sariska had no tigers left.
- 2008: Sariska received a male and a female from Ranthambore.
- 2009: Panna received its first three tigers after poaching emptied the reserve.
- December 2019: NTCA suspended the Satkosia project.
- June 2026: NTCA-WII documents review recovery efforts in 12 reserves since 2008.
- October 2026: tigress T138 entered Buxa. As of 31 October she had wandered into Assam.
Why Are Tigers Reintroduced?
What does reintroduction mean?
Reintroduction means bringing tigers back to a place where they have vanished. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) defines it this way in its protocol.
The tiger must have been extirpated there. If a few tigers still live there, the move is called re-inforcement, also known as supplementation.
The aim in both cases is a wild, free-ranging population that needs little long-term management.
Moving tigers is not a shortcut. The protocol says it must never replace habitat connectivity. That means forest corridors that let tigers walk between reserves on their own.
Sources: NTCA: Protocol for Tiger Re-introduction; NTCA: Reintroduction page.
Check 1
Re-introduction means adding tigers to a reserve that already has a living tiger population.
What was the Sariska shock?
Sariska in Rajasthan had about 25 tigers in its official 1995 census. In March 2005 a CBI special team told the Prime Minister that no tigers were left.
The team named poaching as the main reason. After the report of 17 March 2005, the Prime Minister set up a Tiger Task Force. Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) chaired it.
The Tribune reported that the finding set off alarm about missing tigers in Ranthambore and Panna too. Panna later lost its whole tiger population to poaching by about 2008 to 2009.
Sources: The Tribune: Sariska, May 2005; IPS News on Sariska; IUCN-CTSG: Panna case study.
What are a source and a sink?
A crowded reserve is a source. NTCA’s rehabilitation SOP says a high-density source produces surplus tigers. Think of a full house where the grown-up children must move out.
A sink here means a place that can take in tigers. It has good habitat and prey, but few or no tigers. The SOP prefers low-density areas like this, including places with no tigers now but a tiger past.
There is a safety reason too. Spare tigers that wander out of a crowded reserve pass through human land. That can cause conflict. The SOP says high source density is often the main reason tigers disperse.
In June 2026 Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav asked a national workshop to analyse potential source and sink areas.
Sources: NTCA: SOP on rehabilitation of tigers from source areas; PIB: Alwar workshop, 28 June 2026.
Do not mix up two NTCA documents. The Protocol for Tiger Re-introduction sets the steps. The SOP on rehabilitation of tigers from source areas says where to move surplus tigers. SOP means standard operating procedure.
How Is a Reintroduction Done?
Who sets the rules?
NTCA’s Protocol for Tiger Re-introduction is adapted from the IUCN Guidelines for Re-introductions. IUCN is the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The team must include Wildlife Institute of India (WII) representatives, state forest departments, a qualified vet and a qualified wildlife biologist. NTCA keeps oversight of the process.
On 9 April 2022 the Environment Minister released NTCA’s “Tiger Reintroduction and Supplementation in Wild Protocol”. It came at the 20th NTCA meeting in Pakke Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh. That was the first NTCA meeting held outside the national capital.
Sources: PIB: NTCA meeting at Pakke, April 2022.
Step 1: Study the site first
Experts check habitat, prey and the old causes of decline, such as poaching or habitat loss. A full re-introduction needs a site with no remnant tiger population. This avoids disease spread and social disruption.
If the site is badly degraded, the protocol says to restore habitat or resettle people before any release. Management plans should look more than 25 years ahead.
Step 2: Choose the source and the tiger
Source tigers should preferably be wild, not captive. Source populations are ranked by genetic and geographical closeness to the release area. They are also ranked by the effect of removal on the donor population.
Without genetic data, the nearest population that was once connected to the site is preferred.
The protocol prefers tigresses aged 2 to 3 years. These are sub-adults, meaning young tigers that have left their mother but have not yet taken a territory. Removing them does not cause male turnover or infanticide in the donor area. Established breeding tigers should not be moved.
Check 2
The NTCA protocol prefers sub-adult tigresses aged 2 to 3 years, not established breeding tigers.
Steps 3 and 4: Check, capture and transport
Before capture, experts monitor the tiger’s social status, health and behaviour. The tiger is then tranquilised, and the transport plan must reduce stress. Quarantine and vet checks are needed, especially on long journeys.
Example: in 2026, tigress T138 was tranquilised in Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar. An Indian Air Force aircraft flew her from Gorakhpur to Hasimara Air Force Station on 30 September 2026. She then went by road to Buxa.
Sources: Indian Express: Buxa tigress in Assam; NewKerala: tigress steps into Buxa forest.
Step 5: Soft release
The protocol says “soft release” should preferably be the norm. In a soft release the tiger first lives in an enclosure at the release site. The rehabilitation SOP says this enclosure needs natural prey. The tiger settles in before it goes free.
Enclosure sizes differ. Madhav used three linked enclosures of 1.3 hectares each. Buxa used a 2.2-hectare enclosure. Mukundara’s first tiger, RT-91, went into a 28-hectare enclosure.
Sources: PIB: Madhav National Park tigers, March 2023; Down To Earth: tigress translocated to West Bengal; Times of India: Mukundara tiger, April 2018.
Check 3
In a soft release, the tiger is let straight into open forest on arrival.
Steps 6 to 8: Collar, prey and people
A radio collar is a neck band that sends the tiger’s position to the team. The protocol requires monitoring of all released tigers by telemetry or satellite tracking. Each Panna tiger wore a VHF or GPS collar and was tracked round the clock.
Prey matters as much as the tiger. Buxa’s programme released more than 800 chital and restored about 380 hectares of grassland. A WII scientist at the 2026 workshop also stressed prey augmentation, including gaur and barasingha translocations.
The programme must be understood, accepted and supported by local people. If tigers threaten life or property, compensation must be arranged. Where all else fails, removal of the released tiger may be considered. Every death after release should be studied.
Buxa’s programme involved 64 Eco-Development Committees or Joint Forest Management Committees.
Sources: PIB: Buxa tiger recovery, October 2026; PIB: workshop case studies, June 2026.
Where does the SOP say tigers can go?
| Landscape | High-density source | Low-density destinations |
|---|---|---|
| Shivalik-Gangetic | Corbett | Western Rajaji (Suhelwa is the second option) |
| North-western central India | Ranthambore | Mukundara Hills, Kailadevi, Palpur-Kuno |
| North-east cluster | Kaziranga, Orang | Manas, Buxa, Gorumara, Jaldapara, Dampa, Karbi Anglong |
The SOP also says relocations must stay within clusters that share a recent gene pool. It says Similipal and Satkosia represent a lineage that produces melanistic tigers, likely a unique gene pool. It advises against moving tigers from other parts of central India into that cluster.
The SOP puts Valmiki in a different landscape from Buxa. PIB says the Valmiki source was chosen after a fresh assessment, “in accordance with established protocols”. This article makes no claim that the move follows or breaks the SOP.
The Case Files, 2008 to 2023
All statuses are as of 31 October 2026. Use the table first, then read each case.
| Reserve (State) | Year | Source of tigers | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sariska (Rajasthan) | 2008 | Ranthambore | One male and one female; 56 tigers by June 2026 (PIB) |
| Panna (Madhya Pradesh) | 2009 | Bandhavgarh, Kanha (females); Pench (male) | More than 50 tigers produced within six years (IUCN-CTSG) |
| Mukundara Hills (Rajasthan) | 3 April 2018 | Ranthambore (RT-91, a tiger that had strayed) | Released into a 28-hectare enclosure |
| Nauradehi (Madhya Pradesh) | April 2018 | Kanha (tigress), Bandhavgarh (tiger) | News reports say three cubs by 2020 |
| Satkosia (Odisha) | June 2018 | Kanha, Bandhavgarh | NTCA suspended the project in December 2019 |
| Rajaji (Uttarakhand) | December 2020 to January 2021 | Corbett | A tigress, then a male; five moves were planned |
| Madhav (Madhya Pradesh) | 10 March 2023 | Satpura (male), Bandhavgarh (female) | Five tigers planned; declared the 58th tiger reserve in March 2025 |
| Buxa (West Bengal) | October 2026 | Valmiki (Bihar) | T138 entered an enclosure on 2 October and walked out on 4 October |
Sariska, Rajasthan (2008)
The first test
A male tiger and a tigress came from Ranthambore in June and July 2008. An Indian Air Force helicopter airlifted the first tiger on 28 June 2008.
NTCA, the Rajasthan Forest Department and WII worked together. WII’s recovery plan said five tigers were needed in all.
In June 2026 the Environment Minister called it the world’s first successful scientific reintroduction of tigers into a landscape where they were locally extinct. He said Sariska went from local extinction in 2005 to 56 tigers. That is the Minister’s claim, as reported by PIB.
Panna, Madhya Pradesh (2009)
Three founders
Panna lost its entire tiger population to poaching by about 2008 to 2009. Tigress T1 came from Bandhavgarh and tigress T2 from Kanha, both in March 2009. Male T3 came from Pench in November 2009.
The IUCN Cat Specialist Group case study says the goal was 25 adult tigers, the estimated carrying capacity, within ten years. It says the population produced more than 50 tigers within six years. The study was written by the project team.
More tigers were added in 2011 and 2014. Early litters were mostly male, so later releases favoured females.
Sources: The Better India: Panna.
Check 4
All three of Panna’s first tigers came from Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Mukundara Hills, Rajasthan (2018)
A stray finds a home
Male tiger RT-91, called Mirza, went into a 28-hectare enclosure in the Darrah range on Tuesday, 3 April 2018. It had strayed from Ranthambore and was living in forests near Bundi.
Officials said poachers were active in that area. That was one reason to move it. A PIB note of March 2025 lists Mukundra Hills among reserves where tigers were reintroduced.
Sources: PIB: tiger conservation note, March 2025.
Nauradehi, Madhya Pradesh (2018)
A pair and three cubs
News reports say a tiger pair was released at Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary in April 2018. The tigress, Radha, came from Kanha. She was born in Pench and reared in a Kanha enclosure. The male, Kishan, came from Bandhavgarh.
News reports say the pair was photographed with three cubs by 2020. The area is now Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve. PIB’s June 2026 release lists it among the workshop case studies.
Sources: The Hitavada: Nauradehi tigers, October 2020; Indian Masterminds: Veerangana Durgavati.
Satkosia, Odisha (2018, suspended December 2019)
India’s first inter-state move
Satkosia was declared a tiger reserve in 2007 with 12 tigers. The count fell to two by 2018. The plan was to bring six tigers, in three pairs, from Madhya Pradesh.
Mahavir came from Kanha on 19 June 2018. Sundari came from Bandhavgarh on 28 June 2018. This was India’s first inter-state tiger translocation.
A resident tigress already held the core area and chased Sundari away. Villagers protested within weeks. They feared for their lives and livestock and said they were not consulted.
Mahavir was found dead on 14 November 2018. An NTCA field report said poaching caused his death. Sundari allegedly killed two people. She was later tranquilised and shifted to an enclosure.
In December 2019 NTCA directed Odisha and Madhya Pradesh to send Sundari back and suspended the project. She returned to Madhya Pradesh in March 2021, after 28 months in captivity in Satkosia. In June 2026 the Environment Minister said Satkosia failed for lack of community support.
Sources: Indian Express: why the Satkosia project failed; Down To Earth: Satkosia project shelved.
Check 5
NTCA suspended the Satkosia project in December 2019.
Rajaji, Uttarakhand (2020 to 2021)
Two tigers from Corbett
A 4-year-old tigress from Corbett’s buffer zone reached Rajaji on 24 December 2020. She was the first of five planned moves and was kept in an enclosure first. Western Rajaji already had two resident tigresses at the time.
A male from Corbett followed on 9 January 2021. Rajaji director D.K. Singh said the next move would wait until the pair bred and adapted. NTCA also wrote that further moves must wait until the two tigers settled.
NTCA’s rehabilitation SOP names western Rajaji as the low-density site for tigers from Corbett.
Sources: New Indian Express: Corbett to Rajaji, December 2020; Indian Express: second tiger to Rajaji, January 2021; EastMojo: further relocations only after tigers settle.
Madhav, Madhya Pradesh (2023)
Linking two reserves
A 4-year-old male from Satpura and a 3.5-year-old tigress from Bandhavgarh were released into enclosures on 10 March 2023. The plan was for five tigers, two males and three females.
PIB says Madhav was notified in 1956, covers 354.61 square km and last reported a tiger in 2012. PIB says it could link Panna with Ranthambore. It was declared India’s 58th tiger reserve in March 2025.
The 2026 Scorecard
What happened at Alwar?
On 28 June 2026 the Environment Minister inaugurated a national workshop on tiger re-introduction at Alwar. NTCA organised it with the Rajasthan government to mark 18 years of reintroduction in Sariska.
He released a “Road Map on Active Management of Tigers in India” and a booklet on reintroduction and recovery. The WII Tiger Cell presented a “Road Map for Stocking Tiger-deficient Areas”.
The workshop had 12 Chief Wildlife Wardens and 18 Field Directors. Low-density reserves, including Buxa, Achanakmar, Udanti-Sitanadi, Indravati and Palamau, presented their preparedness for tiger recovery.
The Minister said Panna and Sariska succeeded with community support, and Satkosia did not.
What does “12 reserves since 2008” mean?
NTCA-WII documents released in June 2026 review recovery efforts in 12 reserves since 2008. The figure comes from UNI and The Tribune. The PIB releases do not contain it.
The 12 include both reintroduction and supplementation. They are not all reintroductions. Buxa came in October 2026, after those documents.
The Tribune reports that Sanjay Dubri grew from eight to 24 tigers through supplementation.
The Minister said tiger reserves rose from 46 to 58 over the past decade. India’s tiger estimates were 2,226 in 2014, 2,967 in 2018 and 3,682 in 2022.
Sources: The Tribune: NTCA-WII roadmap, July 2026.
Reintroduction versus supplementation
| Term | Meaning | Site condition | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-introduction | Set up tigers where they were wiped out | No remnant population | Sariska 2008, Panna 2009 |
| Re-inforcement (supplementation) | Add tigers to an existing population | A few tigers remain | Sanjay Dubri (The Tribune, July 2026) |
Rajaji and Satkosia are left unlabelled here. Western Rajaji had two resident tigresses. Satkosia had two tigers in 2018. The facts are stated; the label is not.
Current Affairs: Buxa’s First Translocated Tigress, October 2026
News question on this story: Tigress T138 and Buxa Tiger Reserve: from which reserve was she brought?
All Buxa facts are as of 31 October 2026. The story is still unfolding.
Why Buxa?
Buxa in West Bengal was declared a tiger reserve in 1983. It connects to forests and protected areas in Bhutan and Assam.
PIB says habitat loss, fragmentation, land-use change and fewer prey caused a long absence of a stable resident tiger population. The Tiger Augmentation and Recovery Project has run since 2018, backed by NTCA and WII.
Camera traps recorded tigers in 2021, 2023 and 2026. A tiger photographed in 2023 matched one from Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam. PIB’s March 2025 note had already said Buxa would be next after Rajaji, Madhav, Mukundra Hills and Ramgarh Vishdhari.
What happened to T138?
T138 is a three-year-old tigress from Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar. She reached Hasimara by air on 30 September 2026 and then went by road to Buxa.
On 2 October 2026 she entered a 2.2-hectare soft enclosure. Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari were present. The event marked the start of Wildlife Week 2026.
She stepped out into the open forest on the evening of Sunday, 4 October 2026.
PIB calls this the first phase of a “planned, phased and adaptive” programme. It says success will be measured by a self-sustaining population, not by the number of tigers released.
Check 6
T138 was released into open forest at Buxa on 2 October 2026.
Where does it stand?
By late October she had travelled about 100 km and entered the area of Raimona National Park in Assam. On 27 October the state forest minister said there was no plan to tranquilise her.
On Saturday, 31 October 2026, West Bengal announced a plan to capture her and bring her back. Whether she has been captured or returned is not verified as of 31 October.
The Chief Minister said on 2 October that three more tigers would be brought within two months. That is a plan. No second tiger has been reported released as of 31 October.
Sources: UNI: tigress and Assam habitat.
So what? This is the newest test of the programme. The lesson of Satkosia and Panna is the same: community support and prey decide the outcome, along with the tiger. A tiger that crosses into another State also shows why corridors matter. Compare it with Project Cheetah, which moved a different big cat.
Exam Angle
Facts and traps examiners like
- Sariska 2008 got tigers from Ranthambore. Panna 2009 got them from Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pench.
- Satkosia 2018 was India’s first inter-state tiger translocation, from Madhya Pradesh to Odisha. NTCA suspended it in December 2019.
- Re-introduction needs a site with no tigers. Supplementation adds tigers to an existing group.
- The NTCA protocol prefers tigresses aged 2 to 3 years and says soft release should preferably be the norm.
- Two documents, two jobs: the protocol gives the steps; the rehabilitation SOP maps sources and destinations. The 9 April 2022 protocol was released at Pakke.
- Madhav is India’s 58th tiger reserve (March 2025). Buxa was declared a reserve in 1983, and T138 came from Valmiki, not Kanha or Corbett.
- Tiger estimates: 2,226 (2014), 2,967 (2018), 3,682 (2022).
- Do not write that translocation replaces corridors. The protocol says it never should.
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