Tigress Zeenat, which had strayed from Odisha's Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) to Bankura in West Bengal, was finally captured on Sunday afternoon after being sedated with tranquillisers, chief wildlife warden Debal Roy said.

Roy said the tigress was tranquilised with a single dart shot at 4:09 pm, after previous attempts to sedate her had failed. The animal’s vital parameters would be examined before deciding her temporary accommodation, he said.

For over a month, Zeenat, a three-year-old tigress, kept forest officials on their toes as she moved across three states, evading capture at every turn.

From her escape from Similipal, Odisha to her journey through Jharkhand and Bengal, Zeenat’s flight through dense forests and rugged terrains became a challenge that tested the patience and strategy of wildlife authorities.

What started as an attempt to relocate her for conservation turned into a pursuit, as officials worked to track her movements and bring her back to safety.

November 14: The journey begins

Zeenat, from Maharashtra's Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve, was relocated to Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha as part of a conservation effort to strengthen the local tiger lineage. Initially kept in a soft enclosure for 10 days, Zeenat was being acclimatized to her new home.

November 24: The escape

Days after the authorities opened the gates to her new habitat at Chahala, Zeenat slipped through a gap in the fence and vanished into the wild, taking the authorities by surprise.

December 9: Crossing boundaries

Zeenat’s genetic memory led her on a remarkable journey. She crossed the Subarnarekha River into Jharkhand, venturing 5 km into Chaibasa. Authorities, equipped with a radio collar, tracked her movements and realised that she had left Odisha and entered a new state.

December 10-11: Hide and seek

Alerts were issued to the forest officials of Bengal and Jharkhand, fearing the tigress might enter the densely populated areas of Bengal. Despite efforts to monitor her, Zeenat remained elusive, staying away from human settlements and keeping the authorities on edge.

December 15: A welcome rest

After a few days of roaming, Zeenat took a brief respite in the Rajabasa area of Jharkhand’s Chakulia range. She had hunted a prey and rested, which brought a temporary sigh of relief to the authorities. She had kept her distance from villages, avoiding any potential human-animal conflict.

December 17-18: Close calls

Authorities brought in kunki elephants to guide her back to Odisha, but Zeenat retreated further into the forests. Tranquilizing her was considered due to her lack of food since December 14, but Zeenat remained ahead of her pursuers.

December 20-22: Catch me if you can

Zeenat moved deeper into Bengal and her radio collar signal became weak. In the Belpahari range of Jhargram, the authorities struggled to track her movements. She kept moving through the rugged terrain, evading the capture efforts. By December 22, she had ventured into Purulia district’s Bandwan area, 50 km away from her previous location.

December 25: A moment of hunger and hope

Zeenat made her first kill—an unfortunate goat that had strayed into the forest. Forest officials, noting her hunger, decided to use the carcass as bait in hopes that she would return. The Bengal forest department began placing net fencing in strategic areas to make her capture easier.

December 27: A new territory

Zeenat crossed into the Manbazar block of Purulia, covering a distance of 15 km from her previous location in Bandwan. Dense forests undermined the authorities’ efforts to monitor her movements through drones. By now, Zeenat had roamed over 120 km across three states, leaving the authorities in a constant state of alert.

December 28: A glitch in the system

On December 28, the authorities made a breakthrough, tracking Zeenat to the Kangsabati forests of Bankura, about 50 kilometres away from Manbazar, Purulia. A malfunction prevented the radio collar from providing continuous updates, adding to the difficulty of locating the tigress.

December 29: The final pursuit

After weeks of failed attempts and shifting strategies, the forest department began narrowing the area where Zeenat was believed to be. Teams fired tranquiliser darts in an effort to sedate her. But Zeenat remained one step ahead, resisting the darts and maintaining her stamina. But by Sunday afternoon, the authorities managed to strike the tigress with the tranquiliser darts after several attempts. The sedatives took effect, and Zeenat was subdued.

By 4 PM on Sunday, after a long and exhausting ordeal, the forest department captured Zeenat. The young tigress was brought under control in the forests of Bankura.