Wildlife does not recognise administrative boundaries. Examine the institutional mechanisms for managing **inter-state movement of large carnivores** in India.

In October 2026, tigress T-138 was moved from Bihar to Buxa Tiger Reserve (West Bengal). She then crossed the Sankosh river into Raimona National Park, Assam, and both states' forest departments and the NTCA began tracking her jointly [1]. The episode shows how India's reserve-centred institutions cope with animals that ignore state borders. The answer is: only partly.

Existing institutional mechanisms

• Statutory apex body: The NTCA was set up under Section 38L, Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It approves state Tiger Conservation Plans and coordinates between states [2].
• Interstate Coordination SOP: It covers reserves that share a border. Field staff meet weekly, border range officers monthly, and Chief Wildlife Wardens at least once a year. It also provides for joint patrolling and for sharing information on the capture, translocation and release of problem animals [3].
• Conflict protocols: NTCA has an SOP on straying tigers in human-dominated landscapes, plus SOPs on livestock depredation and orphaned cubs [4].
• Telemetry and joint monitoring: A radio collar lets Assam, West Bengal and the NTCA track T-138 in real time. The decision not to tranquillise her allows natural dispersal [1].

Gaps exposed

• Narrow scope: The interstate SOP is written for adjoining reserves with resident tigers [3]. It does not settle who decides on capture or who pays compensation when a translocated animal wanders into a third state.
• Community buy-in: Tigers are locally extinct in Satkosia (Odisha). Its reintroduction ran into villager opposition, and one introduced tiger died [5]. Villages around Raimona had no part in Buxa's planning.
• Weak recipient habitat: Buxa had to boost its prey by releasing 690 chital and creating grasslands [6]. A thin prey base can itself push tigers to leave.
• Transboundary blind spot: The Buxa–Raimona–Manas landscape runs along the Bhutan border, beyond the reach of domestic SOPs.

Way forward

• Extend the interstate SOP to translocated and dispersing carnivores, with pre-agreed trigger points for when officials step in.
• Set up landscape-level coordination committees under the NTCA, with a shared compensation fund.
• Make consultation with fringe villages in likely dispersal zones mandatory, and fill staff posts before any release.

Overall, the statutory NTCA, its SOPs and telemetry give India a sound base, but they still treat the reserve as the unit of management. Moving to landscape governance through cooperative federalism and community partnership, as the Buxa–Raimona case requires, will help secure tiger recovery and SDG 15 (Life on Land).