Bhubaneswar: A team from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has arrived in Similipal to study tigress Zeenat’s behaviour and decide when she will be released into the wild.
Earlier, the state wildlife wing had hinted that the tigress’s hunting skills were being assessed further, and it might take at least four to six weeks before she is released into the wild. “We are making a bigger enclosure for the tigress. She was lodged in the same enclosure where tigress Yamuna was lodged in Similipal South. The NTCA team reviewed the situation. The special committee on tiger translocation, comprising NTCA and state’s forest officers, will decide on the course of action,” said chief wildlife warden Prem Kumar Jha.
NTCA has advised the wildlife wing to enlarge the enclosure in which Zeenat is being kept. Officials said they don’t want to take any chances after she dispersed from Similipal to Jharkhand and subsequently to West Bengal. It took three weeks for the forest personnel of three states to bring the tigress back to Similipal. “She has not developed any human imprint. She is healthy and agile after being brought back from Bengal,” Jha added.
It has been nearly two months since tigress Yamuna was released into the wild. Wildlife officials declined to divulge her location but said the tigress apparently looks settled. Ever since she was released into the wild, Yamuna has remained within the limits of the Similipal biosphere. Similipal biosphere reserve comprises the tiger reserve’s two divisions — Kuldhia and Hadagarh wildlife sanctuaries.
“In the case of a female tiger, three months is enough to show signs of stabilisation. It may take one more month before she gets a mate. Tigers are solitary animals and only in two instances do they get along with other tigers — for mating and when cubs are with their mother,” a wildlife expert said.
Zeenat was released earlier in Similipal’s north division, which has considerably fewer tigers than the south. This time, Zeenat may be released in Similipal south, which is a core area.
Wildlife officials said for Zeenat, all due care has been taken to avoid direct contact with the forest personnel in charge of monitoring her. She is being monitored through CCTV footage.