The seizure of a Bengal Tiger skin and the arrest of 11 poachers from Balasore, adjacent to Mayurbhanj, where the Similipal Tiger Reserve is located, have triggered anxiety among forest officials about the safety of the three-year-old tigress Zeenat, who recently ventured into Bengal from the Odisha national park with a pit stop in Jharkhand.

She has been on the move for the last ten days, keeping nearly 100 forest officials on their toes. Things have worsened, with poachers giving Similipal officials sleepless nights and days.

On Tuesday, officials arrested three poachers with country-made guns and the animal they had hunted inside the core area of the reserve.

Keeping the sensitivity of the case in mind, the forest officials remained tightlipped about whether the tiger that poachers killed and whose skin was seized belonged to a Similipal native. The tiger skin was seized on Monday.

The divisional forest officer (DFO) of Balasore, Khushwant Singh, told The Telegraph: "We formed a special team after getting a confidential report of the Bengal Tiger skin trade. The team arrested the poachers near Soro. We have arrested 11 people of whom seven are from Mayurbhanj and four from Bhadrak. Their bail plea has been rejected and they have been sent to jail."

Sources said the special team was formed with officials from Balasore and Mayurbhanj, and the team arrested the accused red-handed with the skin from Soro.

Soro is just 10km from Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the larger Similipal landscape. Tigress Jamuna, brought from Maharashtra, roams between Kuldiha and Similipal. Zeenat was brought to Similipal on November 15 from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra and the 2.5-year-old Jamuna was brought from the same reserve on October 27. They were brought to improve the genetic diversity in Similipal.

Singh said: "A bullet mark has been spotted on the seized tiger skin. There is a hole in the skin. We have sent the skin to the forensic team to ascertain the age of the tiger and how it died."

On whether the tiger that the poachers killed was from the Similipal Tiger Reserve, Singh said: "An inquiry is on. Only after the probe is completed, will we be able to ascertain where the tiger came from or whether the skin was brought from outside the state here for business purposes. It would be too early to make any comment at this moment."

On the other hand, wildlife activists and senior forest officials believe that the tiger is from Similipal. "Poachers are active in the Similipal landscape that spreads nearly 2,770sqm. It's hard to believe that the poachers killed the Bengal Tiger somewhere else outside the state and brought it to Balasore to sell it. Even on Tuesday, three poachers were arrested, along with guns, from the core area of Similipal. A barking dog they had killed was also seized,” said a source.

Worried about the safety of its animals, the state government last week decided to deploy 131 armed police to guard the Similipal Tiger Reserve. The team will be headed by the superintendent of police, Mayurbhanj. The principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Prem Kumar Jha, said: "All possible steps are being taken to give protection to Zeenat and Jamuna.”

Sources said nearly 1,500 cameras have been installed inside Similipal giving live feeds about the movement of the animals and poachers. However, taking advantage of the dense forest and hilly terrain, the poachers still manage to kill animals with impunity.