Zeenat, the three-year-old tigress that had left Odisha’s Simlipal, crossed over two states covering 200 km in 12 days and sneaked into West Bengal’s western part close to Jharkhand on Friday.
Tracking the signal received from the big cat’s radio collar, the tigress was spotted around 4.30 am at Majugeria forest under Belpahari range in Jhargram.
Since the region, where the animal has been spotted, is dotted with tribal inhabited villages located in dense jungles, the state forest department has taken all measures to avert any untoward incident and human — tiger conflict.
“We have taken all measures to prevent the tiger from entering any human habitat. Three tranquiliser teams have been kept ready with trap cages for capturing the tiger. We are also asking villagers not to venture into forests with their cattle and to collect saal or kendu leaves,” said Debal Roy, the state’s Chief Wildlife Warden.
Two tigresses Zeenat and Jamuna were brought from Tadoba forest in Maharashtra and released in Simipal forest a month ago.
On the night of December 8, Zeenat left Odisha’s forest and reached Jharkhand’s Chakulia near West Bengal border on December 11 covering more than 150 km.
Forest officials said Jamuna did not follow the footprint of Zeenat and the signals received from the radio collar shows the animal is within Odisha and in Simlipal biosphere jurisdiction.
“Between December 11 and December 18, Zeenat mostly stayed in the forests of Mural, Rajabasa, Dhobasole, Godrasole and Chiyabandhi in Jharkhand.
While roaming, the big cat crossed railway tracks three times, ventured into an abandoned World War-II airstrip twice and came close to the Bengal border several times, near Gidhni and Belpahari,” said a forest department official.
During this period, Zeenat covered around 4-5 km daily on an average, sometimes even travelled 8-10 km.
“A team of more than 50 personnel from the state forest department have been deployed in the region where Zeenat Has been spotted. We came to know that the tigress hunted a wild boar for a meal. An animal ambulance with cages has been brought from Jhargram zoo and the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve. Both Bengal and Odisha foresters are using drones to keep an eye on Zeenat’s movement,” said Roy.
Earlier in 2018, a tiger, with its point of origin unknown, made the forests of south Bengal’s Jharhram its home for nearly two months before it was found dead with a spear through its face during a ritualistic hunting festival popular among tribals.
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