India holds about 75% of the world's wild tigers, yet some reserves have no tigers at all. Discuss the role of translocation and corridors in fixing this imbalance.

India estimated an average of 3,682 tigers in 2022, with numbers growing 6.1% a year. India is home to over 70% of the world's wild tigers [2]. This success is uneven, though. Buxa (West Bengal) was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1983, yet it lost its resident tigers to habitat fragmentation and prey loss [1]. Translocation and corridors work together: translocation moves tigers from areas with many to areas with none.

Role of translocation

• Restocking reserves where tigers had died out: Sariska received tigers from Ranthambhore in 2008, which PIB calls a world first [3]. It now holds around 20 tigers [4].
• Repeating the model: Tigers have been reintroduced in Rajaji, Madhav, Mukundra Hills and Ramgarh Vishdhari [5]. On 2 October 2026, tigress T138 was moved from Valmiki (Bihar) to Buxa [1].
• Preparing prey first: Buxa's recovery project has run since 2018 with NTCA and WII. Before the release it added 800+ chital and restored about 380 ha of grassland [1].
• Cooperative federalism: The source and receiving States share responsibility for the outcome [1].

Role of corridors

• Natural return: A tiger camera-trapped in Buxa in 2023 was matched to Manas (Assam) [1].
• Gene flow: Connected landscapes stop reserves becoming isolated "islands" that must be restocked again and again.
• Across borders: Buxa's forests continue into Bhutan, so keeping the corridor safe requires India–Bhutan cooperation [1].

Limitations

• Fix the cause first: Sariska and Panna lost their tigers despite being reserves [3]. Releasing tigers without fixing the original cause invites the same failure.
• A visit is not a population: Buxa recorded tigers in 2021, 2023 and 2026, but still had no stable resident population [1].
• Lessons not yet compiled: NTCA held a national workshop on the "opportunities and challenges" of reintroduction, with case studies from nine reserves [6].
• Human–wildlife conflict: Tigers that wander out can enter villages. Buxa works with 64 EDCs/JFMCs (village forest committees) to reduce conflict and share benefits [1].

Translocation restarts a population, and corridors keep it going. The Buxa release text itself says success is measured by a self-sustaining population, not by the number of tigers released [1]. With secure corridors, community support and open post-release monitoring, India's surplus tigers can fill empty reserves and build a resilient network, advancing SDG 15 (Life on Land).