Zeenat’s Journey: Captured, Transported, and Released

After weeks of eluding authorities and terrorizing villagers, the tigress Zeenat is set to return to Odisha's Similipal Reserve Forest. Caught in West Bengal, she has been temporarily housed in the Alipore Zoo. Her journey highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen the tiger gene pool in Similipal.

Tigress Zeenat, known for terrorizing communities in Jharkhand and West Bengal, is slated for a return to Odisha's Similipal Reserve Forest on Tuesday night. This marks the end of her three-week escape from Similipal, a period defined by long-distance travel and evasion.

Efforts to bring Zeenat back from West Bengal have been set in motion, and she is expected to reach Similipal later tonight, according to Prem Kumar Jha, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) for Odisha. Zeenat will be released into a natural enclosure within Similipal's core, where another tigress, Jamuna, was previously kept.

Having been caught by a tranquilizer dart in West Bengal's Bankura district, Zeenat underwent medical assessments at Kolkata's Alipore Zoo before her transfer was cleared. The National Tiger Conservation Authority questioned the decision to relocate her to the zoo rather than direct translocation back to Similipal, raising concerns about protocol adherence.

(With inputs from agencies.)