“We are yet to receive a detailed medical report. However, preliminary analyses revealed that the tigress is fine. Tests are underway, and we are ensuring minimal contact with humans. Talks are ongoing with Odisha and the Centre and after two days, we will be able to provide further updates. According to regulations, if the tiger is fit for release, it will be returned to the wild,” said Debal Ray, Chief Wildlife Warden, West Bengal.
NTCA officials told The Indian Express that they have directed Bengal to return the tigress to Simlipal in Odisha.
Speaking to The Indian Express over the phone, Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj, member secretary of the NTCA, said, “We have asked Bengal to immediately send the tigress to the Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha. We have also questioned why she was brought to the Alipore zoo when Simlipal itself has facilities for health check-ups…”
“It is normal for a tiger or tigress to move out of a particular area. There are many instances of tigers covering long distances. In one case, a tiger was seen travelling from central India to Andhra Pradesh. The tigress was placed in Similipal under a national programme to ensure the genetic vigour of the tiger population there. The tigress should be returned to Similipal,” said Rajesh Gopal, secretary-general of the Global Tiger Forum and former member secretary of the NTCA.
The tigress, which has recovered from sedation, is kept in a special cage in the Alipore zoo, with only doctors allowed to visit. A medical board has been formed with veterinarians from the zoo and the animal husbandry department. The tigress weighs approximately 136 kg. The vets will go for blood, stool and urine tests.
After wandering through three states and covering 300 km over the last 21 days, the three-year-old tigress that escaped from the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district earlier this month was sedated and captured on Sunday evening from a forest near Gosaindihi village in Bengal’s Bankura district.
Zeenat was introduced to the Similipal Tiger Reserve from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra on November 14 as part of a programme to strengthen the gene pool of tigers in the reserve. Ten days later, the tigress was released into the core area of the reserve.
On December 8, Zeenat wandered out of the reserve and strayed into Jharkhand. After roaming in the state’s Chakulia area for over a week, the tigress entered Jhargram in Bengal. It then moved to Bandwan in Purulia and from there to Manbazar in the same district. On Sunday morning, the tigress entered the Ranibandh area in Bankura.
During its trek from Similipal to Bankura, Zeenat covered over 300 km. Experts believe it is common for tigers to cover such distances in search of suitable territory with a good prey base.