Tigress Zeenat spotted in Purulia

Kolkata/Bhubaneswar : Forest personnel are monitoring the movement of a tigress which strayed from Odisha’s Similipal Reserve Forest and is currently in West Bengal’s Purulia district, an official said on Sunday.

The three-year-old tigress, brought from Maharashtra to Similipal Reserve Forest, is fitted with a radio collar and is currently located in the Bandwan area of Purulia district, West Bengal’s Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy said.

It earlier crossed over to West Bengal from neighbouring Jharkhand and roamed around in Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur district, all parts of the forested ‘Jangalmahal’ belt.

Asked about reports that another tigress from Similipal, which had escaped around the same time and roamed around the forested corridor of three neighbouring States, has already headed back to her old habitat, Roy said, “We don’t have information about two tigresses escaping from Similipal and having strayed into West Bengal.” “Whether you call her Zeenat or Jamuna, we have information about one tigress leaving Similipal, entering Jharkhand and now having crossed over to our State for the past three days. Our men are keeping a constant vigil on her movement,” he said.

He said forest personnel from Odisha are also working with their Bengal counterparts in monitoring the movement of the big cat which has so far not shown any signs of aggression. The tigress had covered not less than 50 km after straying from Similipal in Odisha but such behaviour is normal for ti-gers who wander several kilometres in search of a new territory, another forest official said.

“Probably the forest belt of neighbouring States, having similar habitat, be-came a corridor for her and she is trying to set up a new territory. We are at work to drive her away to Similipal through the same route or if she is cap-tured, release her back into the reserve forest in Odisha. We are hopeful there is no man-animal conflict,” the senior State forest official said.

“The prey base is low in the areas where it is presently located. So, we hope she turns back to the reserve since there is more prey there,” he said.

Meanwhile, the authorities of the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on Sunday said it was not averse to putting the tigress under sedation in order to bring her back to the core area of the National Park.

STR Field Director Prakash Chand Gogineni said, “Tigress (Zeenat) is moving in West Bengal. The Odisha and West Bengal forest departments are tracking and moving with it. It is fit and fine. Efforts are being made to bring it back by tranquilisation,” Gogineni said.