Bhubaneswar: Following intervention of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), tigress Zeenat is being translocated by the West Bengal Forest Department back to the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha.

Official sources said, in a special vehicle, a team of the neighbouring State is shifting Zeenat from the Alipore Zoo to Similipal. The three-year-old tigress is likely to reach Similipal by midnight.

The tigress will be kept at a soft enclosure under south division of Similipal, the official sources added.

Yesterday, NTCA under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change asked the Chief Wildlife Warden of West Bengal to translocate the tigress back to the Similipal Tiger Reserve at the earliest following the due process of SOP of the tiger conservation authority.

Citing the Section 38 O (2) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, NTCA stated the radio-collared tigress must be released in the wild. 

The tiger conservation authority passed the order after the Chief Wildlife Warden, Odisha sought an intervention, so that any imprinting or human interaction in captivity could be avoided.

The authority also asked the Chief Wildlife Warden of West Bengal to disclose the reasons why Zeenat was shifted to Alipur Zoo, instead of translocating back to Similpal as per the SOP.

Also read: Zeenat tranquilised in Bengal one month after straying out of Similipal