Alipurduar, 16th February: On Friday, 29 spotted (chital) deer were released from Buxa Tiger Project’s Rajabhatkhawa forest to secure the food supply of tigers in the forest. As per Buxa Tiger Reserve’s DFD Praveen Kaswan, the deer were brought to Buxa from Bethuadahari Wildlife Sanctuary. Significantly, a few hundred deer have been released in the Buxa forest over the past three years.
According to reports, the number of sambar and barking deer in the forest is comparatively more than that of the spotted deer, the major prey of the tigers. As a result, the forest authorities intend to bring spotted deer from several state sanctuaries to the Buxa forest to meet the shortage.
Recently, 52 chital deer were released in the forest under the Buxa Tiger Project. Similarly, on Friday, about 29 spotted deer were set free in the core area of the Rajabhatkhawa forest in the presence of the forest department officials.