Bhubaneswar: Similipal’s tigress Zeenat, who made headlines for her dramatic 23-day escape and journey across Odisha, West Bengal, and Jharkhand, is now suspected to be pregnant.
After being captured in West Bengal’s Bankura district and brought back to Similipal, Zeenat was kept in a soft enclosure from January 1, where she was observed for several weeks and found to be fit and healthy.
During her enclosure stay, Zeenat showed signs of estrus and responded to the presence of a wild melanistic male tiger, T12. After her release into the wild on April 17, mating between Zeenat and T12 was recorded on thermal cameras in the second week of May. Since then, Zeenat has been moving inside the core area of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), hunting natural prey, and being monitored 24/7 by tracking teams and satellite-based GPS.
The official said that Zeenat has stopped mating and isolated herself, both strong indicators of pregnancy. Given the gestation period of 105-120 days in tigers, it is expected that Zeenat will give birth by August or early September. Zeenat was brought to Similipal from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra as part of a tiger supplementation project.
