BHUBANESWAR: Recaptured after escaping the Similipal landscape in December last year, tigress Zeenat has started settling down in the tiger reserve and is expected to give birth within the next two months.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, a senior wildlife official of the Forest department informed that the Tadoba tigress mated with T-12, a dominant male in the core of Similipal South Division during mid-May and is now showing signs of pregnancy.
“The tigress has now stopped mating and has isolated herself from males, indicating that she is pregnant. Considering her mating in May third week and the typical gestation period of 105 to 120 days for big cats, we anticipate the tigress to give birth towards the end of August or early in September,” the wildlife official said adding, this is a very positive development as it indicates that the tigress has started marking her territory in the Similipal landscape.
The senior officer further said once the big cat gives birth to the cubs, her chances of leaving the territory, at least for the next two to three years is negligible. He revealed Zeenat had been released back to the Similipal landscape two-and-a-half-months back. However, the release wasn’t made public considering the headlines Similipal grabbed following the big cat’s escape from the tiger reserve in December last year. “We released the tigress towards April 16-17 and have been tracking her movement regularly through the radio collar since then,” he said.
The three-year-old tigress brought from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) of Maharashtra, as part of the big cat supplementation project in Similipal, kept forest officials of three states - Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal - on their toes for 23 days following its exit from STR north on December 7. It was recaptured in Bankura district of West Bengal and brought back to Similipal after a health check-up at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, early morning on January 1 this year.