Zeenat, the wandering tigress who left a 300-km trail behind her, is no couch potato. Well, she is no potato at all, Odisha has lashed out, in response to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s criticism of the state over the three-year-old entering its state lines.
Mamata’s remarks on Monday followed reports of another tiger sighting close to the Bengal-Jharkhand border. Her grouse was that despite the Bengal Forest Department’s efforts in capturing Zeenat, the BJP-ruled Odisha government had not shown gratitude.
Zeenat had left a trail of panic across five Bengal districts, Mamata said, “people could not leave their homes, schools had to be closed”… “Later, they say, give back the tiger… If you do not have space, let us know. We will keep the tiger forever in our reserves.” About the new tiger spotting, she said: “Through the Chief Secretary, I will ask the Odisha government to come and rescue it.”
Odisha Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia said Mamata was being “immature” and called her “outrage” political as the BJP was in power in Bhubaneswar. “Her statement that Odisha does not have adequate forests reflects her ignorance as around 39 per cent of our total geographical area comprises forests,” Singhkhuntia told The Indian Express.
Pointing out that Zeenat, who was brought from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra in November to diversify Odisha’s genepool, had been released in Similipal’s north division, from where she first crossed into Jharkhand, he said: “Do animals know geographical boundaries? How can we confine animals by geographical boundaries?… Have we ever made an issue of elephants from Bengal entering Odisha? Wild animals are free to move anywhere they want to.”
The minister said he appreciated the Bengal administration’s “cooperation” in capturing Zeenat, but that a team from Similipal had also been closely tracking her movement.
As per official sources, what may have “upset” the West Bengal administration and “provoked” Mamata’s reaction was the letter sent by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on December 30, asking why Zeenat had been shifted to Alipore Zoo after capture instead of being translocated to Similipal as per the NTCA’s SoP.
Odisha Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) separately wrote to his Bengal counterpart to immediately send the tigress back to Similipal.
A senior state Forest Department official said Odisha was right in what it did. “We know tigers will venture out as animals are not supposed to know geographical borders. We made efforts to bring back Zeenat as it had been brought to Similipal for a special purpose (diversifying the genepool) under the supervision of the NTCA. The Bengal administration should not have behaved as if it was their property,” said the official requesting anonymity.
The Odisha Forest Minister earlier drew West Bengal’s attention to its recent ban on sale of its potatoes outside the state, causing a shortage in Odisha. The supply or not of potatoes was the Mamata government’s prerogative, Singhkhuntia said. “But Zeenat is no potato.”
Zeenat had been brought to Similipal National Park from Maharashtra in November. About three weeks after she was kept in a soft enclosure and then moved to the core area, she walked into Jharkhand. She then stayed in Jharkhand’s Chakulia area for over a week before crossing another 15 km and entering Jhargram. From there, the tigress crossed over to Bandwan in Purulia and then to Manbazar in the same district, followed by Ranibandh in Bankura. She was captured from a forest near Gosaindihi village in Bankura.
Mamata had sent her “heartiest congratulations” to the forest team for its success then.
On January 1, Zeenat was brought back to Similipal and has been kept in a “soft enclosure” again, of around 1 hectare in the park’s south division. P K Jha, the Odisha Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), said she is in good health. “The officials are monitoring her movements. A committee has also been formed to take a call on when she will be released into the wild.”
On Bengal’s charges of another tigress from Odisha spotted near the state, a senior Odisha official said there is “no history of tigers” from Odisha entering Bengal in the past seven years.
On the other hand, said the Odisha Forest Minister, there is a noticeable trend, in reverse. “Around 90 per cent of tourists coming to Similipal are from Bengal.”
With inputs from ENS, Kolkata
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