When Zeenat was finally sedated and caged, it had been 21 days since the tigress left Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha and entered West Bengal after crossing Jharkhand. It had covered over 30 km.
Biswas, Deputy Ranger of the Sunderban Tiger Reserve and an expert in trapping and tranquilising tigers, was called in by the West Bengal government.
In April 2018, after forest department officials failed to capture a tiger for over a month in Lalgarh of Jhargam district, it was hunted and killed by villagers there. “The only thing at the back of my mind was that the Lalgarh incident should not be repeated. That innocent tiger was hunted down by locals as we failed to capture it. At the start of the operation in West Bengal, our seniors held a meeting and I was reminded of the Lalgarh incident. We were under pressure,” Biswas told The Indian Express over the phone.
On December 20, Biswas and his team were called in from the Sunderbans to Jhargram. This alone posed significant challenges. “Firstly, tigers are very intelligent animals. They are very fast and adept at avoiding human contact,” he said. “Secondly, the terrain. Even with a radio collar, when the tigress hid in caves in the small hills of Purulia… for hours, there was no signal. The forest is also dense and different from the Sunderbans. We knew no harm should be done to the tigress, and had to ensure that it does not move towards human habitat. This made our work difficult.”
“Apart from tranquillising guns, we brought in nets and trap cages. Alongside the team from Odisha, we tracked the tiger from one district to another,” said Biswas.
Narrating the final moments that led to the capture, Biswas said, “When the tigress entered the Ranibandh area in Bankura from Purulia, we tracked it. In Purulia, Zeenat broke a nylon net with such force that the nails on the ground were uprooted. On Saturday night in Bankura first, we cordoned off a 3 km radius with double nylon netting and initiated our operation. We used floodlights and torches. I sat atop a land excavator with my tranquiliser gun,” said Biswas.
“In the night, both the Odisha teams and I shot darts which hit the tigress on the back, but it was quick to remove them. We decided to start again on Sunday afternoon,” he said.
On that fateful afternoon, the tigress was captured. “We put up triple nylon nets cordoning a half-kilometre radius of where the tigress was. We were in a car this time. The Odisha team darted the tigress on the shoulder and so did I. It took some time… While others covered its face and held it, I helped by tying the limbs of the tigress. We then quickly put it into the cage,” said Biswas.
“I have trapped and tranquilised many (over 30) tigers in the Sunderban Tiger Reserve, which is a riverine area. Jhargram, Purulia, and Bankura are a different landscape,” Biswas said.
Zeenat was introduced to Simlipal Tiger Reserve from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra on November 14, as a part of a programme to strengthen the gene pool of tigers in the reserve. Ten days later, it was released to the core area of the reserve.
On December 8, Zeenat wandered out of the reserve and strayed into Jharkhand. After roaming in Jharkhand’s Chakulia area for over a week, Zeenat entered Jhargram in West 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 district.
Experts believe it is common for tigers to cover distances to find a suitable area or territory with a good prey base.