"Reintroduction of tigers into reserves where they have gone locally extinct needs more than translocation." Discuss with reference to recent Indian experiences.

Reintroduction means bringing a species back to a habitat where it has died out, and moving the animal is only its first step. India has moved tigers into reserves that had lost them, starting with Sariska and Panna [1]. The results show that success depends less on the move itself and more on what is in place around it: prey, protection, people and connectivity.

Recent Indian experiences

• Panna (MP), a success: tigresses moved from Kanha and Bandhavgarh in 2009 [1] bred and rebuilt the population, with close monitoring and protection behind them.
• Satkosia (Odisha), a failure: of the two tigers brought in, one died amid opposition from villagers [2]. The experiment never took root.
• Buxa (West Bengal), still being tested: a radio-collared tigress released in October 2026 crossed the Sankosh into Raimona National Park, Assam, within weeks [7]. A released tiger does not stay where it is put.

What is needed beyond translocation

• Prey base: Buxa's lack of tigers was linked to low prey, and 690 chital were released [3]. Yet WII found prey numbers did not rise, owing to hard release and pressure from leopards [5]. WII says tigers can recover only with continuous prey augmentation [4].
• Soft release: NTCA recommends predator-proof enclosures and sourcing prey animals from within the same landscape [6].
• Community consent: Satkosia shows that local hostility can end a project [2]. Villages on the reserve's edge need awareness campaigns, quick compensation and eco-development committees.
• Protection: anti-poaching staff should be in place before any release.
• Inter-state coordination: Assam, West Bengal and NTCA are now tracking the Buxa tigress jointly [7]. Protocols should decide in advance what triggers a capture, who pays compensation and how corridors across state and India–Bhutan borders are managed.
• Founder group: a lone female cannot start a population. Releases must include both sexes.

Habitat and prey ready → community on board → staff in place → soft release of both sexes → telemetry and conflict response → corridor plan

Panna shows that reintroduction works when translocation is one part of a full package, and Satkosia shows what happens when it is not. Buxa can follow Panna if reintroduction is treated as a landscape-level programme: prey, people, protection and NTCA-led inter-state protocols. That would serve Article 48A and SDG 15 (Life on Land).