HT Correspondent
DIBRUGARH, Jan 20: In a historic development, a Royal Bengal Tiger has been sighted and captured on camera traps for the first time in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park at Salibari in the Kundaghat area under Tinsukia Wildlife Division of eastern Assam. The rare sighting has brought joy and excitement among nature lovers, environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts across the region.
Assam Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary shared the development on social media, stating that Dibru–Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere Reserve has created history with the first-ever recorded sighting of a Royal Bengal Tiger within the park area.
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The news of the tiger’s presence has generated widespread enthusiasm, as Dibru-Saikhowa is not traditionally known as a tiger habitat. Nature enthusiasts have welcomed the development as a positive sign for biodiversity and conservation efforts in the region.
Expressing happiness over the sighting, nature enthusiast Devojit Moran said that although details are limited, the confirmation from the Forest Minister’s statement has brought excitement among wildlife lovers.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Tinsukia Wildlife Division, Bibison Tokbi, confirmed that the first photographic evidence of the Royal Bengal Tiger was obtained on December 14, 2025. He added that another photographic record was captured again on January 1, 2026, confirming the continued presence of the animal inside the park.
“For the last one month, camera trapping has been carried out inside the park by a joint team of the forest department and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI). Around 60 camera traps have been installed and the tiger has been recorded twice. This is the first confirmed photographic evidence of a Royal Bengal Tiger in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park after it was notified as a national park,” Tokbi said.
He further added that logistical support was provided by WTI and the joint team has been working tirelessly to document wildlife presence in the park. “There were claims earlier that Royal Bengal Tigers existed in Dibru-Saikhowa, but no photographic evidence was available until now,” he said.
Local resident and nature enthusiast Niranta Gohain termed the sighting as good news for everyone, while recalling that as per earlier records, around 27 Royal Bengal Tigers were reported in the Dibru-Saikhowa area in 1997, but they gradually vanished over time. The confirmed presence of the Royal Bengal Tiger is being seen as a significant milestone for wildlife conservation in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and a hopeful sign for the revival of apex predators in the fragile ecosystem.
