A three-year-old Bengal tigress from Maharashtra was released into the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Odisha on Friday.

The tigress, nicknamed Zeenat, from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra was brought to the Similipal Tiger Reserve by the forest department. It reached there on Thursday night. This is the second tigress from Maharashtra to arrive in Similipal in the last fortnight.

Principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), Susanta Nanda, posted on X: “Happy to inform you that the second tigress — Zeenat —brought from TATR in an arduous journey of 40 hours to boost our gene pool has been released to the soft enclosure at 9.30am today. Kudos to the entire team.”

On October 27, the Odisha government released Jamuna, a 2.5-year-old tigress, into the Similipal Tiger Reserve. It was also brought from TATR in Maharashtra.

Once Zeenat is conditioned to the local climate like Jamuna, it will be released into the wild. However, the forest department plans to tie a radio collar to its neck before releasing it into the core area.

Regional chief conservator of forest (RCCF), Similipal, Prakash Chandra Gogineni, told The Telegraph: “The tigress named Zeenat was tranquilised in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve on Wednesday at 4pm. It was then transported by road to Similipal via Raipur, Sambalpur and Jashipur. It reached Similipal on Thursday at 7.30pm. The tigress is healthy and active.”

The tiger reserve has 27 tigers, including 13 females and 14 males. Of these, 13 are melanistic. Melanistic tigers have thick black stripes placed closed together, covering most of the brown body. The presence of two tigresses has given forest officials hope that the tiger’s mating with one of them in the coming days would add to the STR’s gene pool.

The STR officials are more worried about the increase in the melanistic tigers in the STR regions. Environmentalists say that melanistic tigers are the products of a genetic disorder caused by inbreeding which could, in the long run, adversely impact the population of the normal yellow-coated royal Bengal tigers.

“At present, in the Similipal Tiger Reserve, inbreeding is taking place, leading to a genetic disorder. This is like an incestuous relationship within a family which causes disorders. Normal and natural mating of tigers outside the reserve is required to overcome the aberration,” said an official.

The officials said that to infuse new blood into the area’s existing tiger population, a corridor expanding Similipal’s connection with other forest areas of the state and neighbouring states is needed. “It’s good that two tigresses from Maharastra have finally reached here and are likely to correct the situation,” he said.

Sources said the Odisha Forest Department planned to bring six tigresses, but the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved translocating only
two tigresses.