Bhubaneswar: Expressing displeasure over shifting of tigress Zeenat to the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has asked the West Bengal forest department to shift the tigress to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).
The NTCA has asked the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) of West Bengal to showcase the reason behind the shifting of the tigress Zeenat to the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata after being tranquilised.
“Apprise this authority for the reason why the tigress was shifted to Alipore Zoo, instead of translocating it back to the state of Odisha as per the SOP of the NTCA,” the Authority said in its letter.
“The animal under question is to be released in the wild and in order to avoid any imprinting or human interaction in captivity, as requested by the Chief Wildlife Warden, Odisha, I am directed to reiterate that, under section 38 O (2) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the said tigress may please be translocated back to Similipal Tiger Reserve at the earliest following the due process of SOP of NTCA,” the letter read further.
Zeenat had been relocated from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) to Similipal last month to introduce a new gene pool to the tiger population.
After moving out from STR, the female cat was first traced to a forest in the Chakulia range of the Jamshedpur forest division in Jharkhand and then moved to West Bengal.
After three weeks of attempt, the tigress was tranquilized at Bankura in West Bengal. However, the West Bengal government has kept the animal in the Alipore Zoo violating the SOP and existing norms, an official said.
Following the NTCA instruction, the Bengal Forest Department has agreed to allow shifting of the tigress to STR. The tigress is very likely to arrive at Similipal this mid night, the official informed.