12345 Purulia/Kolkata/Jhargram: Three-year-old Odisha tigress Zeenat, who left her habitat in Similipal Tiger Reserve more than a fortnight ago traversing two states before arriving in Bengal, has made its first kill in three days in a hilly forest of Purulia.
According to officials, it has killed a goat, weighing approximately 30 kg, and consumed a substantial portion. Two more goats killed by it were retrieved by local villagers along with the partially consumed portion of the other goat.
Sources said the big cat has wounded four other goats that wandered into the forest from a local village. However, foresters clarified that Zeenat has not approached any village in the vicinity and scarcely moved 300-400 metres since Tuesday morning.
"We are planning to secure the 1-km surrounding area where it currently is with nylon nets," said chief conservator of forest S Kulandaivel.
Bengal's chief wildlife warden Debal Roy said they would deploy 6 more smart cameras in the vicinity to monitor her movement. "It approached the baits offered but didn't consume them. We suspect she's acquainted with this capture technique. We are considering all possibilities," he added.
Another team (with 15 members) from Odisha has arrived in Bengal. "Our primary objective is to tranquillise the tigress and take it to Odisha," said Odisha chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha.
Meanwhile, the tigress that had been covering a daily average distance of 10-15 km until Sunday early morning, when it entered Purulia, has merely traversed 3-4 kilometres since then till Tuesday late afternoon.
Foresters and experts suggest a wholesome habitat with superior prey base has potentially provided it a suitable location to establish temporarily.
Purulia (main) DFO Anjan Guha said: "The forests here possess good density of prey animals such as wild boar, barking deer and Indian hares. Thus, this habitat is suitable for a big cat."
According to the recent India State of Forest Report 2023, the forest cover in Purulia has increased by over 4 sq km compared to 2021. Of the total forest cover in the district, 40.2 sq km is dense, 311.6 sq km is moderately dense and 582.7 sq km is open forest.
Not only Purulia, forest cover in Jhargram — where the tigress stayed briefly — and Bankura — located very close to Purulia border — have registered increases by 13 and 41 square kilometres, respectively.
Meanwhile, the satellite collar has ceased functioning again in the afternoon, said sources. Odisha-based conservationist Aditya Panda said: "A tiger slumbers for 8-10 hours daily. During this period, if it rests in rocky terrain where network is poor, the collar can lose signals for hours." According to him, the collar also possesses a ground tracking system requiring the tracking team to maintain close proximity to the big cat.
GFX
Tiger kills three goats, consumes a portion of one of them
Nylon nets to secure 1km surrounding area near its present location in Purulia's Bandwan
6 more smart cams to keep watch
Tigress barely moved 3-4 kilometres till Tuesday late afternoon since Dec 22 morning
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