Tigress Zeenat Re-released into Wild at Similipal Tiger Reserve

Bhubaneswar: Tigress Zeenat was re-released into the wild at Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district today, following her rescue from West Bengal’s Bankura district.

The three-year-old tigress, who had strayed out of Similipal, was tranquillized and captured after 21 days of roaming across Jharkhand and West Bengal.

“Zeenat was initially released in the Chahala range of Similipal and later moved to the Jenabil range in the southern part of the reserve. She is now within the core area, and her movements are being continuously monitored via a radio collar,” said Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia.

Zeenat was originally translocated to Similipal from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra on November 14 last year. After a brief stay in an enclosure, she was released into the core area on November 25.

However, the tigress strayed from the reserve, entering Jharkhand on December 8 and later venturing into the Belpahari forest of West Bengal. She was eventually tranquillized in Bankura on December 29.

Following a health check-up at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, Zeenat was brought back to Similipal on January 1 and safely returned to the wild today.