Tigress Zeenat, travelling 20-25 km each evening, enters Purulia: Forest official
Kolkata: Tigress Zeenat, a three-year-old translocated from Maharashtra to Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in November, travelled via Jharkhand and entered West Bengal’s Purulia district on Sunday. She has been protecting 10–15 kilometers each evening, preserving forest officers on excessive alert.
“Each morning, round 6 am, we monitor her location and establish eight to 9 villages that should be alerted. If there are school-going kids in these villages, we ask the villagers to tell the forest ranger in order that the kids may be escorted to highschool, particularly in the course of the early morning hours. The tiger doesn’t transfer a lot throughout noon and stays deep contained in the forest,” mentioned a senior forest official of the state.
Forest officers mentioned that Zeenat, translocated to enhance the reserve’s genetic variety in Odisha, crossed into Jharkhand’s forests on December 12. She entered West Bengal on December 19 via Gidhni in Jhargram and was traced close to Duarsini in Purulia, about 75–80 km away, on Sunday morning.
“The tigress has been avoiding people, which is optimistic because it reduces the danger of approaching human habitats. We’ve tracked her pugmarks and heard her calls, however she stays elusive, with no sightings or cattle killings reported,” the senior forest official mentioned.
Officers are carefully monitoring Zeenat’s actions through her radio collar and a high-frequency radio transmitter, which gives frequent updates. Hand-held antennas are additionally getting used to boost monitoring accuracy.
“That is serving to us monitor the tigress precisely and ship alerts to villagers. Villagers have been suggested to keep away from getting into the forests, notably in the course of the tiger’s resting hours,” mentioned officers.
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Efforts are underway to seize Zeenat. “We’re permitting the tiger to settle and avoiding actions which may drive her nearer to villages. We’ve enlisted a particular group from the Sundarbans Tiger Reserve, which incorporates two personnel with in depth expertise in darting tigers with tranquillisers. Additionally they have nylon nets. Moreover, two locals acquainted with the terrain are a part of the group. Three officers from Odisha are additionally concerned within the operation, which is monitoring the tiger,” mentioned the officer, including that your entire operation includes greater than 100 folks.
The official added that the forests in Jhargram and Purulia provide beneficial habitats, together with plentiful water, prey, and hiding spots, which officers hope will encourage the tigress to stay within the wild.
