Despite Evidence, NTCA Records Zero Tigers in Neora Valley

RAJDEEP MONDAL, MP,  11 Dec 2025, Jalpaiguri: Despite repeated sightings and photographic evidence, the National Tiger Census Report 2022 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) officially recorded no tigers in Neora Valley National Park. With the next tiger census scheduled to begin in January 2026, the NTCA has already conducted tiger census training in Assam, and now the Gorumara Wildlife department is gearing up for intensive fieldwork in Neora’s challenging winter conditions to document the presence of tigers in the hilly forest.

Evidence of Royal Bengal Tigers in Neora Valley predates 2017, with experts finding droppings and claw marks on trees. The first photographic proof came in February 2017, when car driver Anmol Chhetri captured a tiger near Lava on his mobile phone.

From 2018 onwards, trap cameras installed across the park recorded 24 tiger images in different areas until 2024. While these images were shared with the Wildlife Institute of India, the official report is still awaited.

West Bengal Wildlife Board member Joydeep Kundu said: “Neora Valley is a virgin forest, bordered by Sikkim’s Pangolakha Sanctuary and Bhutan’s Torsa Strict Reserve Forest. Being at the trijunction of two states and two countries, Neora serves as a natural corridor for wildlife. The presence of tigers cannot be denied, but more detailed observations of their habitat and movement are needed.”

Gorumara DFO Dwija Pratim Sen outlined the survey plan: “Surveyors will cover multiple zones in the reserved forest. The NTCA will record visual sightings, claw marks, droppings, and direct tiger encounters, while the Wildlife Institute emphasises trap camera analysis.

Advanced cameras with night vision capability will be deployed across hilly blocks at altitudes up to 10,500 feet during the first week of January.”

Forest department sources added that cameras will be installed in Lava, Mouchuki, Hathi Danda, Jaributi Danda, Dole Camp, Gogune, Alubari, Chodda Ferry, and the tri-junction area of India, Bhutan, and Sikkim.

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post