Bhubaneswar: A week has passed since tigress Zeenat has dispersed to Jharkhand and amid the uncertainty surrounding her movement, there is a sense of relief that she has not moved towards human habitation despite being nearly 3km from a settlement.
“Zeenat hasn’t moved towards Odisha significantly in the past 48 hours. It killed a cattle that was given to it as bait. It is not attracted towards domestic cattle nor is it heading towards villages, an indication that it is staying deliberately away from human settlement, which is a good sign,” said Satyajit Singh, chief wildlife warden of Jharkhand.
As per the signal from her radio collar, Zeenat is now around Rajabasa in the Chakulia range. It was brought to Similipal on Nov 14 from Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, hoping the big cat would help infuse a new gene pool in Similipal.
Singh said they are in touch with their Odisha counterparts and were told that kumki elephants would be engaged to monitor and push the tiger towards the Odisha border.
The wildlife wing in Odisha was expecting the tigress to cover some distance towards Similipal on Sunday night, but it was not found to be so. It said the tigress was within the secure zone and tranquillising it has not been contemplated as yet.