BARIPADA/BHUBANESWAR: Tigress Zeenat which had moved out to Jharkhand from Odisha’s Similipal forests on December 9, has now entered West Bengal, adding to the challenges of wildlife officials of three states.
Sources said the dispersing tigress, relocated to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) from Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra last month, was traced to a forest in Belpahari range of Jhargram forest division in West Bengal early Friday.
A forest official from STR said Zeenat moved nearly 26 km in a day, keeping forest officials of three states on the tenterhooks. Since its straying into Jharkhand forests on December 9, Zeenat has moved through locations in the Chakulia range of the Jamshedpur forest division. On December 19, it covered Chirchira, Chikiligarh, Gidhini, Parihati, Dubrajpur and Silda before entering into West Bengal forest, he said.
A tranquilising team from Odisha stationed in Jharkhand had previously made an attempt to dart the tigress but in vain. Officials of three states - Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal - are now burning the midnight oil to track its movement.
Zeenat was relocated to STR from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TART) in Maharashtra on November 24.
The tigress moved towards West Bengal last night and has been roaming close to West Bengal-Jharkand border since then. Two teams from Odisha and Jharkhand were tracking its movement.
Sources said forest officials of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal are keeping a close watch on the movement of the tigress as the area it has moved into is densely populated.
The forest teams are ready with required logistics to tranqilise the big cat and bring it back to the STR, if needed, an official from the wildlife wing here said.
He said forest officials of Similipal and Balasore wildlife divisions are keeping track of Jamuna, another translocated tigress, that ventured out of the protected area and moved into the neighbouring Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary last Sunday.