Recaptured after wandering off, tigress Zeenat set to get bigger enclosure but remain confined

“Though we don’t spot immoderate antithetic behaviour from her astatine present, tigers mostly person a precise beardown memory. If she again ventures into different states, it would beryllium a challenging concern for america again. Hence, based connected the adept panel’s suggestions, we person decided to summation her territorial country but it would beryllium successful a larger enclosure,” a elder wood section authoritative told The Indian Express.

The authoritative said that the larger enclosure is needed arsenic Zeenat mightiness beryllium successful accent owed to abstraction constraint, which mightiness pb to a alteration successful its behaviour.

Once it enters its estrous rhythm and reaches intersexual maturity, the authoritative said, a determination would beryllium taken regarding releasing it successful the wild. Usually, tigresses scope intersexual maturity betwixt the property of 3 and four, the authoritative said.

“Once she enters the estrous cycle, she would pull antheral tigers from astir 15 to 20 km country for mating. She would not permission the spot erstwhile she is pregnant,” said the authoritative who did not privation to beryllium named.

On January 16, a committee comprising officials from state’s wildlife wing, National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Institute of India visited Similipal to instrumentality a telephone connected Zeenat’s aboriginal people of action. The government’s steps are based connected the suggestions of the committee.

In November past year, the Odisha authorities brought Zeenat and different tigress from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve to diversify the gene-pool of large cats successful Similipal, the lone location to uncommon melanistic tigers successful the country.

After spending astir 10 days successful a brushed enclosure successful Similipal North, Zeenat was released into the wild. It near the country and strayed into Jharkhand. For implicit a week, it was successful Jharkhand’s Chakulia country and past covered 15 km to scope Jhargram successful West Bengal. Zeenat’s way included Bandwan successful Purulia and Manbazar of the aforesaid district, and Ranibandh successful Bankura.

On December 29, aft being connected the determination for 21 days, Zeenat was sedated and captured from a wood adjacent Gosaindihi colony successful Bankura by a squad of the officials of the wood departments of Odisha and West Bengal.

According to wood section sources, Zeenat mightiness beryllium frightened of elephants astatine Similipal and locomotion into the adjacent jungles which autumn nether Jharkhand. It mightiness besides transverse into West Bengal aft seeing elephants successful Jharkhand arsenic well.

“At the Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve, she was not accustomed to seeing elephants portion traversing the forests. It could beryllium 1 of the reasons she walked into the forests of Jharkhand,” said the wood official.

According to the all-Odisha Tiger Estimation 2023-24, Similipal has astir 27 tigers, including 13 melanistic ones.

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