Baripada: Similipal Tiger Reserve, home to unique pseudo-melanistic tigers, faced a critical challenge: dwindling genetic diversity and increasing inbreeding within its isolated tiger population. Research by Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan in 2021 highlighted this urgent issue, prompting the need for intervention.
To address this, a bold plan for genetic rescue was approved by the central government on September 26, 2024: translocating tigers from the central Indian landscape to Similipal to enrich the gene pool. The process was swiftly completed by November 24, 2024.
Two female tigers from Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve were chosen. The first, Jamuna, arrived on November 9, 2024. The second, Zeenat, a three-year-old tigress, embarked on a 950 km road trip on November 13, 2024, arriving in Similipal on November 14, 2024.
Zeenat was initially released into a soft release enclosure in the Chahala range on November 15, 2024, and fully released into the wild on November 24, 2024. However, by December 7, 2024, Zeenat had ventured out of the reserve, crossing into Jharkhand and then West Bengal. She was tranquilized on December 29, 2024, in South Bankura Division, and after a brief stay at Alipore Zoo, returned to Similipal on January 1, 2025, released into a 1-hectare soft release enclosure.
Despite her adventurous detour, Zeenat was healthy. Her enclosure was expanded to 8 hectares with a boma system to encourage natural prey interaction, and she thrived, exhibiting natural hunting behaviors. In a pivotal moment, Zeenat showed signs of estrus, attracting T12, a wild melanistic male tiger. She was released from the enclosure on April 17, 2025, and mating was observed in the second week of May 2025 at Jamuna meadow.
Zeenat is now thriving within the core area of the tiger reserve, successfully hunting natural prey and continuously monitored by tracking teams. Her journey embodies the hope for a more genetically diverse and resilient tiger population in Similipal.