Tigress Jamuna Back In Odisha’s Similipal; Zeenat Still In Bengal’s Belpahari Range

Bhubaneswar: Almost a week after straying into neighbouring Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Jamuna is back in Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj, Forest Department sources said on Sunday.

She was the first tigress translocated to Similipal from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra on October 28 to improve the gene pool in the reserve.

The 31-month-old tigress is in good health and currently in Similipal landscape, the sources added.

Jamuna moved out of STR on the night of December 15 even as Odisha waited for the return of Zeenat, the second tigress from Maharashtra, from Jharkhand.

Zeenat left Similipal on the night of December 8, almost 3 weeks after being brought here. She initially strayed into Jharkhand and moved further away from Chakulia range into West Bengal territory on the night of December 19, creating hurdles in the department’s plans for possible tranquillisation since she is showing no signs of returning to Similipal on her own.

Forest personnel tracking the tigress through the radio collar on its neck found it was moving around Belpahari range in Bengal.

Earlier efforts to trap her in a cage using baits have failed, sources said.