BHUBANESWAR : The tiger supplementation committee formed for release of big cats in Similipal from the Central India landscape will now decide Zeenat’s release into the wild, said wildlife officials on Monday.
PCCF (wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha said after she was brought back to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), Zeenat’s behaviour in the enclosure has been normal.
“A steering committee had also visited the spot where the tigress has been kept to take stock of the ground situation. Based on the input of the committee, the supplementation panel will now put forth its views on release of the tigress from the enclosure to Similipal landscape,” Jha said.
Officials said the joint panel comprises officials from the state wildlife wing, a representative of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
A senior official from the wildlife wing said the committee is waiting for the estrous cycle of the tigress, the period when it would be receptive to mating. “Once she starts showing the behaviour of estrous cycle, Zeenat will be released into the core area of Similipal as this will also be the ideal time for her to be accepted by males and settle inside,” he added.
The officer also said they are more cautious this time keeping in view the previous episode in which Zeenat had moved out of Similipal landscape putting officials of three states - Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal - on tenterhooks for at least 23 days.
After being sedated in West Bengal’s Bankura district, Zeenat was brought back to Similipal south on January 1 and has been kept in an enclosure where Jamuna, the first tigress brought from Tadoba landscape of Maharashtra, had been kept. The three-year-old cat has been in the enclosure for 20 days now.