Baripada: After staying at the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata for about 48 hours, tigress Zeenat was brought back to Odisha. The three-year-old big cat is scheduled to arrive at Similipal tonight.
Following all medical examinations, Zeenat is being brought to Similipal. Upon reaching Similipal, the animal will be released into the soft enclosure in the southern division of the tiger reserve.
Similipal Tiger Reserve’s Field Director, Prakash Chand Gogineni, stated, “The West Bengal Forest Department handed over the tigress from Alipore zoo at 8 pm. A team of West Bengal forest officials is escorting the tigress. After reaching here, Zeenat will be kept in a soft enclosure. After studying her activities, the next course of action will be taken.”
A 3-year-old tigress named ‘Zeenat’, who escaped from the Similipal Tiger Sanctuary and reached West Bengal via Jharkhand, was tranquillized on Sunday in Bankura district of West Bengal. The Forest Department took her to Alipore Zoo for medical examination. Zeenat was brought to Similipal from Maharashtra’s Tadoba in November to strengthen the gene pool of the tiger population in the reserve.
The animal 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 terrorizing villagers and evading forest guards on her way, Zeenat was caught on December 29 in Bankura district of West Bengal. She was then taken to the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata for blood and stool sample collection. A medical team was formed to monitor her health.
Meanwhile, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) wrote to the West Bengal government about taking Zeenat to the Alipur Zoo instead of immediately shifting her to Similipal from Bankura. In a letter to the chief wildlife warden of West Bengal, the NTCA stated, “It is also requested to apprise this Authority of the reason why the said tigress was shifted to Alipur Zoo, instead of translocating her 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.
