Bhubaneswar: Efforts are in full swing to tranquilize and relocate the tigress Zeenat, who has strayed from Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve to West Bengal’s forests. With no sign of the tiger returning to its habitat, Baripada Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF) Prakash Chand Gogineni confirmed plans to tranquilize the big cat to ensure its safe return.
Both Odisha and West Bengal forest department officials are closely monitoring Zeenat’s activities.
According to RCCF Gogineni, the health of the three-year-old tiger is stable. It has been more than ten days since it left Similipal through parts of Jharkhand before being found in the Belpahari forest of West Bengal.
Under National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) guidelines, taming is allowed only if tigers pose a threat by encroaching on human settlements or attacking people or livestock. Since Zeenat lives in the forest, direct intervention is restricted.
Sources say that Zeenat has found an adequate hunting base in the Belpahri forest, which may explain her reluctance to return to Similipal. However, Odisha Forest Department officials are determined to bring him back. Cattle-split cages with mesh doors have been set up to humanely capture the tiger, but he has yet to fall into any of the traps.
As Belpahri is a popular tourist destination, the West Bengal government has issued a public notice warning tourists about the presence of tigers and ensuring their safety. Four special teams — three from the Similipal Tiger Reserve and one from the Sundarbans — are actively tracking Zeenat’s activities to protect both human and wildlife interests.
Zeenat’s journey has received significant attention because of her origins. Another tigress, Yamuna, was transferred to Similipal from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra along with Zeenat. The move was part of a genetic revitalization program aimed at introducing fresh genetic material into the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
As authorities continue their efforts to ensure Zeenat’s safe return, the incident underscores the challenges of managing wildlife migration and protecting endangered species in a rapidly changing ecological landscape.