Tigress Zeenat Released In Core Area Of Similipal Tiger Reserve In Odisha’s Mayurbhanj

Bhubaneswar: Tigress Zeenat, who was brought back from West Bengal to Odisha, was released in the core area of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district on Friday.

Speaking to the media, Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia said the three-year-old tigress has been released in the core are of the STR and the Forest officials were constantly monitoring her through the radio collar.

Initially, Zeenat was re-released in Chahala range of Similipal and later shifted to Jenabil range in the southern part of the tiger reserve, Khuntia added.

Zeenat left STR on December 8 and travelled over 300 km across three states to reach West Bengal. After 21 days of continuous monitoring and sustained efforts, the Forest officials tranquillised her on December 29 in a forest in Bankura district of the neighbouring state and brought her back.

She was kept in a soft enclosure of one hectare in Jenabil range in the reserve’s southern division. Its health condition and movement were being monitored during the period.

The tigress was translocated to Similipal from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra to improve the gene pool and released to the core area of the reserve’s north division on November 25, 2024.