Guwahati: The adventurous journey of "Dooars Rani," a three-year-old Royal Bengal tigress, has taken another dramatic turn. Just five days after a massive cross-border operation successfully recaptured her, the tigress (designated BTR TF-1) has broken out on Friday, from her secure acclimatization enclosure at West Bengal’s Buxa Tiger Reserve for the second time.
Forest officials discovered the breach on November 8, 2026, revealing a stunning feat of animal engineering. Rani managed to dig a tunnel directly underneath the enclosure's perimeter fence, bypassing a concrete foundation that stretched two feet thick and four feet deep into the ground.
"She has made it clear that she cannot be confined by any means," remarked West Bengal Forest Minister Manoj Kumar Oraon after reviewing CCTV footage of the perimeter.
Experts believe Rani's repeated flights toward the east are driven by instinctual bonds. Wildlife officials speculate she may have formed a connection with a resident male tiger during her previous 10-day stint in Assam, and is now actively tracking his scent marks across the landscape.
A joint tracking team comprising 60 forest personnel and three specialized kumki elephants—Bharat, Sarathi, and Vittala—has been deployed to secure her. However, the operation faces severe technical hurdles. Forest authorities confirmed that Rani has entered dense "shadow zones" where satellite and radio collar signals are highly intermittent.
As of Tuesday, tracking data placed her near the 27-mile forest village, having already crossed the Bala River.
Officials fear that if she crosses the Sankosh River overnight, she will re-enter Assam's Raimona National Park, vastly complicating the multi-state containment strategy and prompting the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to urgently review its north Bengal reintroduction protocols.