Kolkata, Apr 22 (IANS): In an attempt to track the movement of Royal Bengal tigers reportedly frequenting the forest zones in north Bengal, the state forest department has decided to install 1,500 camera traps in three reserve forest zones in the region.

The three reserve forest zones are Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary in Darjeeling district, Neora Valley National Park in Kalimpong district and Buxa Tiger Reserve in Alipurduar district.

"The installation of camera traps will also give some idea as to whether these tigers are just frequenting these forest zones in search of prey or a few of them have made these areas their permanent habitat," a forest official said.

The forest department believes that tigers are frequenting these forest zones due to three developments. The first is of course occasional capture of tigers by the existing camera-traps. The second is occasional spotting of tiger excreta and pugmarks in these areas. The third is recovery of body parts of large herbivorous animals like bisons, which are not possible for the leopards in these zones to kill.

"So, the forest department has decided to install 1,500 additional camera traps in these three reserve forest zones to get more information about the big cats. Unlike the ones already installed there, the new camera traps will all be imported high-end ones," the forest official said.

The forest department has already outlined an ambitious plan to reestablish the Buxa Tiger Reserve as an ideal abode for Royal Bengal tigers. An agreement has been signed with the Assam government to bring a couple of tigers from there and release them in the Buxa Tiger Reserve to increase the big cat population.

Since 1998, there has been no evidence confirming the presence of tigers in the BTR. But in December 2021, a tiger was spotted in the forest reserve zone. It was, however, later confirmed that the big cat had migrated to the zone temporarily.