Baripada: Officials of the Odisha Forest Department have intensified efforts to bring back tigress Zeenat to Similipal in Mayurbhanj district after it ventured into an adjoining forest in neighbouring Jharkhand.
It is worth mentioning here that tigress Zeenat was translocated to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra on November 14.
The three-year-old tigress was released to the wild on November 25 after a brief stay at a soft enclosure at the Similipal Tiger Reserve. A few days back, Zeenat ventured into a forest in Jharkhand from Similipal.
According to reports, the Odisha Forest Department officials have been constantly tracking Zeenat’s movement through signals from its radio collar. The animal reached a forest near the Sidho-Kanho Chowk in Chiabandi under Bhatkunda Panchayat of Chakulia range in Jharkhand after crossing a railway track on Wednesday.
Odisha and Jharkhand Forest Department officials tracked Zeenat’s location and have launched an operation to capture the big cat and bring it back to Similipal. They have transported three buffaloes to the Jharkhand forest in an effort to capture the tigress. A special cage attached to a vehicle has also been kept ready to relocate the tigress.
