Straying tigress from Similipal tranquillised and caged in South Bengal

Tigress 'Zeenat' tranquilised and caged in West Bengal after straying from Odisha's Similipal Tiger Reserve, bringing relief to officials.

Tigress ‘Zeenat’, which had strayed from Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha and kept forest officials on their toes for the past few weeks, was tranquillised and caged in West Bengal’s Bankura district on Sunday (December 29, 2024).

“Preliminary health observation of the tigress will be done in some veterinary hospital where the facilities are present,” Debal Roy, principal chief conservator of forest and chief wildlife warden told The Hindu. Mr. Roy said that a decision on releasing the animal into the wild will be taken after its health is ascertained.

The three-year-old tigress was tranquillised near Ranibandh in Bankura on Sunday (December 29, 2024) after an attempt on Saturday (December 28, 2024) failed. The development has come as a big relief for not only forest officials but also the residents of the Jangalmahal region in West Bengal.

For the past several days, the forest officials had placed nylon nets at several points in the habitation where the tigress was tracked.

Zeenat was relocated to Similipal Tiger Reserve from Maharashtra’s Tadoba to bolster Odisha’s tiger population and was fitted with a radio collar, which helped forest officials to track the location of the animal.

The tigress kept changing her location every few days and kept the West Bengal Forest Department on the edge ever since she entered the State from Jharkhand on December 19. Previously, multiple attempts to catch her had failed. She reportedly killed more than three domestic goats, and their carcasses were found in the nearby forests.

In West Bengal, she had first strayed into Jhargram district, then to Bandwan of Purulia district on Thursday (December 26, 2024). She was in Bandwan for more than five days. She then moved to the Dangardi forests of Manbazar in Purulia for a day before entering Ranibandh.