Forest Officials Intensify Efforts For Return Of Tigress Zeenat To Odisha’s Similipal

Bhubaneswar: Forest Department officials of Odisha have intensified efforts to bring back tigress Zeenat to Similipal in Mayurbhanj district after it ventured into the adjoining forest in Jharkhand.

The tigress had been translocated to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra on November 14.

The three-year-old tigress had been released to the wild on November 25 following her brief stay at a soft enclosure at the STR. After being released into the wild, Zeenat moved into forests in Jharkhand from Similipal a few days ago.

Official sources said that Forest department officials have been constantly tracking Zeenat’s movement through signals from its radio collar.

The animal reached a forest near Sidho-Kanho Chowk in Chiabandi under Bhatkunda Panchayat of Chakulia range in Jharkhand by crossing a railway track on Wednesday.

Officials of Odisha and Jharkhand have tracked its location and launched an operation to capture it. They have transported three buffaloes to the forest as part of their efforts to capture the tigress. A special cage attached to a vehicle has been kept ready to relocate the big cat.

The authorities in Jharkhand have deployed police personnel near the forest to avoid any untoward incident, the sources added.