Kolkata: Zeenat, the 3-year-old tigress from Odisha's Similipal Tiger Reserve, who embarked on an adventure that kept forest officials from three states on tenterhooks for nearly a month, became a year-end attraction at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata. On the last day of the year, the big cat, housed at the zoo, was given mutton, chicken, and buffalo meat.
Despite being given a 'VIP guest treatment' at the zoo, she did not eat or drink anything except ORS water at the animal hospital. The veterinary doctors treating her, however, see no problem with that as the tigress has eaten a few animals, including a goat to feed herself.
Zoo sources said Zeenat was not released from the iron cage where she is kept on the first day due to objection from the Simlipal officials. Keeping a tigress who is not accustomed to squeezing into an iron cage for such a long hour, however, raised many eyebrows. Veterinary doctors raised apprehension over the possibility of the tigress developing weakness and ultimately falling ill. For this reason, Zeenat was released from the cage of the veterinary hospital of Alipur Zoo on Tuesday.
A meeting was held on Tuesday to fix a date to send the tigress back to Simlipal. Forest department officials also discussed the NTCA report, sources said. According to surces, talks are on to shift the tigress to Simlipal through Green Corridor on Wednesday. Chief Wildlife Warden Debal Roy, however, did not specify the date of the tigress's relocation. "Paperwork is going on. Once it is complete, Zeenat will be sent back."
Sources said after shifting to Simlipala, she will be kept under observation for a few days and released back into the wild thereafter. Zeenat gave a tough time to forest officials as 200 personnel from Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal were engaged to track and catch her. Approximately Rs 35 lakh has been spent in the exercise.
