Forest personnel are monitoring the movement of the three-year-old tigress Zeenat, which strayed from Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), is currently in Purulia district, an official said.
On Sunday morning, it entered Bandwan in Purulia district from Jhargram. Travelling from Simlipal Tiger Reserve, the tiger entered Jharkhand and later moved to Jhargram in West Bengal. “We are constantly monitoring the Tigress, who has been moving. It was in Belpahari area in Jhargram and then moved to Bandwan area in Purulia. Our teams are in position in the area,” said Anjan Guha DFO (Divisional Forest Officer) Purulia, speaking with The Indian Express over the phone.
The tigress has traveled nearly 200 kms and has successfully evaded its capture for nearly two weeks.
According to state forest department sources, apart from tracking teams which are trying to locate the tigress’s position through the radio collar on its neck, special teams with tranquillisers are also placed on the ground. Trap cages have been laid to lure the tigress and capture it.
A senior forest official pointed out that since the tigress is constantly moving it hampers the tracking process. “The tigress is constantly moving. There are shadow communication zones in the forest areas and sometimes we are not getting signals. This is hampering tracking. Secondly, since it is moving our tranquilising teams are unable to get proper sighting,” said a senior official of the state forest department.
Experts from Sunderban Tiger Reserve are also on the ground with nets, but it is getting difficult even to get a proper sighting so that the area can be cordoned off with nets leading to its capture, stated a source in the forest department.
Additionally, the villagers and tourists in the Bandwan area have been asked to stay alert, especially in areas where the tigress is located.
The three-year-old tigress brought from Maharashtra to Similipal Reserve Forest is fitted with a radio collar and is currently located in the Bandwan area of Purulia district, state Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy told PTI. He said forest personnel from Odisha are also working with their Bengal counterparts in monitoring the movement of the big cat which has so far not shown any signs of aggression.
Meanwhile, the STR authorities on Sunday said that it was not averse to putting the tigress under sedation in order to bring her back to the core area of the National Park. STR field director Prakash Chand Gogineni said “Tigress (Zeenat) is moving in West Bengal. The Odisha and West Bengal forest departments are tracking and moving with it. It is fit and fine. Efforts are being made to bring it back by tranquilisation,” Gogineni said.
Tigress Zeenat was introduced to Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha from Tadoba–Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra on November 14, as a part of a programme to strengthen the reserve’s gene pool. On December 10, Zeenat escaped Similipal Tiger Reserve and walked into Jharkhand. After staying in Jharkhand’s Chakulia area for over a week, it crossed another 15 kms and entered Jhargram recently.
Experts believe it is common for tigers to cover distances to find a suitable area or territory with a good prey base.
— With PTI
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