The Tigress, known as Zeenat, was released on Wednesday in Odisha’s Similipat Tiger Reserve after being caught in West Bengal. The tigress was captured and had to be tranquillized after straying into west bengal, and then wildlife officials joined hands to return the tigress back to its habitat.
The Forest Department, Odisha, sent a 10-member team to Kolkata to monitor the shifting process of Zeenat. Authorities said that further observations over a period of time will be conducted to determine her health status and temperament. According to these findings, more interventions will be made to keep her safe and help her.
The relocation was done after NTCA orders because the apex tiger authority had noted that the earlier translocation of Zeenat violated standard operating procedures. Transferred to Similipal from Tadoba Reserve in Maharashtra on November 23, Zeenat had crossed over to West Bengal through Jharkhand. She was then spotted and tranquillised on Sunday and taken to Alipore Zoo in Kolkata for observation before being handed over to the Odisha officials.
On another note, the NTCA has deferred its plan to translocate two Royal Bengal Tigers from Madhya Pradesh to Odisha’s Dibrugarh Wildlife Sanctuary. This decision has been made as the forest department is still probing into how two tigresses, Zeenat and another tigress, Yamuna, had left the Similipal region. Initially, the NTCA had given a technical clearance to the shifting, but now the whole process will be reviewed before further shifting is done.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) of Odisha, Prem Kumar Jha, said that with regard to the probe outcome, the department will decide on further Tiger Translocation Processes. These cases reconstruct the problem of tiger protection and prove the necessity of following guidelines to protect animals.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates