Intermittent radio signals caused by poor network coverage in the remote Raika Hills of Purulia have emerged as a challenge for foresters trying to track and tranquilise tigress Zeenat.

Zeenat, who left Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve earlier this month and walked to Jharkhand and then Bengal’s Jhargram before entering Purulia last Sunday, is wearing a radio collar.

However, foresters are finding it tough to track her continuously due to network issues. Tracking her accurately is vital to tranquillise her and send her back to Similipal.

When the tigress is roaming the highlands of the hills, the radio signal provides an accurate location. Once she enters the dense forest, the foresters can’t receive any signal.

“When we estimate the tigress’s location based on the last radio signal update, Zeenat may be 300-400 metres away from where the device shows her to be,” said a senior forest official.

S. Kulandaivel, the chief conservator of forests for the Western Circle, said that intermittent network was becoming a major deterrent to darting the animal.

“There is no doubt that the network issue in the tigress’s current location is a significant challenge, and it has delayed our efforts to dart the animal. At the same time, as the safety of our national animal is our utmost priority, we can’t rush the process,”
said Kulandaivel.

On Wednesday, the forest department erected a 1sqkm nylon fence surrounding Zeenat’s current location to protect the tigress and prevent human-animal conflicts, and formed three separate tranquillising teams.

Till she is found, nylon net fencing has been erected in at least five forest villages too, to prevent her from moving into these human habitations.

Raika Hills in Purulia’s Bandwan is dotted with tribal hamlets that rely on forests and hills for their livelihood.

A villager said that temporary fencing was fine, but they were concerned about how long it would last, as this could significantly impact
their livelihoods.

A forest official said that since Zeenat entered Purulia on Sunday, her location has barely changed. She is moving within a 1-2km range.

Villagers claimed that their ancestors had said that the Raika Hills and forests were once a tiger habitat.

“We think the tiger has found a good habitat here,” said Ramchandra Sabar, a resident of Rahamda Sabar Para village in Bandwan.

Senior foresters disagreed. “We cannot believe that the tigress has found a suitable habitat so quickly,” an official said.