BHUBANESWAR: With tigress Zeenat successfully establishing her territory and producing offsprings in the Similipal landscape, the Forest department has decided to remove the radio collar that had been fitted on the big cat to monitor her movement.
After being translocated from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) to Similipal, both tigresses Zeenat and Jamuna have been under constant monitoring through radio collars fitted around their necks.
The devices have enabled field staff to track their movements and monitor their adaptation to the landscape since the beginning of the project. However, with the primary objective of the supplementation programme having been achieved with Zeenat, wildlife officials said it is now purposeless to track the big cat regularly.
The four-year-old tigress, translocated from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in November 2024, gave birth to four cubs in May 2026, marking a major conservation milestone for the state. Although Zeenat had attempted to move out of the Similipal landscape shortly after her release, officials said the possibility of her leaving again is extremely thin as she has now established her territory and given birth to the cubs.
“We have planned to remove the radio collar by October or November this year,” said Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) field director Prakash Chand Gogineni.
He said the radio collar can be removed remotely and therefore it would need no transquilisation. The device can subsequently be collected by the field staff. The direct sighting of Zeenat and her cubs, though, has reduced substantially in the ongoing monsoon season. However, officials continue to receive updates on her movements through the radio collar and VHF transmitter.
Meanwhile, tracking of Jamuna will continue as the tigress remains in the Kuldiha landscape and is yet to reproduce. STR officials said Jamuna is being regularly tracked and her last direct sighting had been recorded just a fortnight back.
On the other hand, the wildlife wing is planning to roll out the second phase of the tiger supplementation programme, under which another pair of big cats from Central India is proposed to be introduced into the Similipal landscape. A male and a female tiger have been planned to be brought to the STR in the second phase, subject to necessary government approvals.
Officials said considering the success of the first phase supplementation, TATR is likely to remain the preferred source for the second phase of supplementation as well.
The tiger supplementation programme, aimed at genetic rescue of the Similipal tiger population, began in 2024. The original plan envisaged the introduction of six tigers - five females and one male - over a period of five years.
Apart from Similipal, the state government has also received in-principle approval from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to resume the tiger reintroduction programme in Satkosia.
