The Odisha government on Tuesday denied that any tiger from the state had left the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) located in Mayurbhanj and strayed into Jharkhand and was approaching Bengal.

The denial came after Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee pointed out that another tiger from Odisha had entered Bengal. She had said: “I want to communicate with the Odisha government through our chief secretary. You (chief secretary) should ask the Odisha government to rescue the tiger and take it back.”

Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha told The Telegraph: “There has been no instance of a tiger going out of the Similipal Tiger Reserve in the last five to six years except Zeenat. Tiger is a wild animal. It can move and cross the border like elephants who come frequently from Jharkhand and Bengal and then go back. Similarly, elephants from Odisha cross the border and then come back. It happens with wild animals.”

Jha said: “We have no news of any tigers moving out of the Similipal Tiger Reserve. In the case of Zeenat, a radio collar was fitted on its neck. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) translocated it to the Similipal Tiger Reserve on an experimental basis. We had kept track of it. But it’s not possible to track all animals as they are not fitted with the radio collar.”

Forest and environment minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia, however, thanked the Bengal government for its support in rescuing Zeenat. “We have no information of any tiger strayed into the other forests of the neighbouring states. However, in a federal state, we need to support each other. Bengal and Jharkhand have helped us to rescue Zeenat.”