Zeenat back in Odisha reserve after 3 weeks

Tigress Zeenat, who escaped the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on December 8 and eluded forest officials in a search that spanned three states, was brought back to Odisha and released in her enclosure early on Wednesday morning.

- Debabrata Mohanty

BHUBANESWAR: Tigress Zeenat, who escaped the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on December 8 and eluded forest officials in a search that spanned three states, was brought back to Odisha and released in her enclosure early on Wednesday morning.

The animal, which strayed into Jharkhand forests on December 8 and later entered West Bengal, was brought to STR in Mayurbhanj district around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. She was released in an enclosure in the core area of STR hours later, said Prakash Chand Gogineni, field director of the tiger reserve.

"She was released in an enclosure in the core area of the tiger reserve at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. She is in good health," Gogineni said.