Tigress Zeenat to Return to Odisha's Similipal by Tuesday Night

Bhubaneswar: After terrorising villagers in Jharkhand and West Bengal, tigress Zeenat on Tuesday night was on the way back to Similipal Reserve Forest in Odisha from where she escaped about three weeks back, officials said.

The process of getting her back from West Bengal has started and she will reach Similipal in the night, Odisha's Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Prem Kumar Jha told PTI.

"She will be released in a natural enclosure in the core area of the Similipal Tiger Reserve where another tigress, Jamuna, was earlier kept," he said.

"After watching her activities, the authorities will take a decision to release her into the wild," he added.

Zeenat was brought to Similipal from Maharashtra's Tadoba in November to strengthen the gene pool of the tiger population in the reserve.

She crossed over to Jharkhand from Similipal in the early hours of December 8, and from there to West Bengal, covering more than 200 km in about three weeks in search of new territory after terrorising villagers and eluding forest guards on its way.

Zeenat was caught on December 29 in Bankura district of West Bengal after a tranquiliser dart hit her successfully following days of chase and failed attempts.

She was then taken to the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata. A medical team was formed there to monitor her health.

West Bengal's Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy told PTI that Zeenat was now in good health and on a liquid diet.

"She is perfectly in good health but she did not show any interest in buffalo or goat meat and sustained on ORS drips at regular intervals," he said.

Roy said following discussions with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and after the three-member team of veterinary doctors gave a fit certificate, the state Forest Department arranged a custom vehicle to send the tiger back to Similipal, around 350 km away, along with a security escort.

Meanwhile, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) wrote to the West Bengal government about taking Zeenat to the Alipore Zoo instead of immediately shifting her to Similipal from Bankura.

In a letter to the chief wildlife warden, the NTCA said, "It is also requested to apprise this Authority for the reason why the said tigress was shifted to Alipore Zoo, instead of translocating it back to the state of Odisha as per the SOP." The NTCA said the tigress was brought to Similipal under a special initiative to improve the genetic constitution of the tigers there.

Reacting to it, Roy said, "A reply will be given to the letter as per protocol. However, we acted after taking all stakeholders on board." A team of the Odisha Forest Department led by Similipal Tiger Reserve's Field Director Prakash Chand Gogineni was in West Bengal to facilitate the animal's return.