BARIPADA: The Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) management is preparing to expand the soft enclosure for tigress Zeenat, increasing the area from one to eight acres by February 25. The additional seven acres will provide more space for the three-and-half-year-old tigress to move smoothly.
Brought from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve two months ago, Zeenat was initially released in the core area of STR. After wandering outside the reserve and reaching Bankura in West Bengal, she was rescued and brought back only to be placed in a soft enclosure previously used for the 31- month-old tigress, Jamuna before she was released in STR.
According to a senior STR officer, Zeenat’s health is stable, and she continues to exhibit normal behaviour since her release in the soft enclosure that was erected in Similipal’s South Wildlife Division.
“There is no chance to release tigress Zeenat in Similipal within a span of a short period. She will be released in Similipal after the National Tiger Conservation Authority gives its consent. Tigress Zeenat will soon be smoothly roaming in a soft enclosure that sprawls within an area of eight acre,” the officer stated.
The translocation is part of a genetic supplementation program approved by the NTCA, with two tigresses brought from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve to Similipal.