IWN Daily Digest — Monday, 27 July 2026

In December 2024, a young tigress slipped out of Similipal Tiger Reserve and kept walking. For three weeks she crossed Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, dodging capture teams from three state forest departments. Newspapers called her a runaway. Forest officials just called her Zeenat.

She isn’t running anywhere now. Camera traps in Similipal recently caught her carrying one of her four cubs through the forest in her jaws.

A tiger with a plan

Zeenat came to Similipal from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in November 2024, part of a supplementation programme meant to widen the genetic pool of a population known for its pseudo-melanistic — black — tigers. Days after her release she left the reserve entirely, travelling nearly 300 kilometres before rangers tranquillised her near Bankura, West Bengal, on 29 December 2024.

Dr Ravikant S Khobragade, the Tadoba veterinarian who first radio-collared her, has a simpler read than “runaway.” “She was never a trouble-tiger,” he says. “She was simply looking for space.”

Home, eventually

Released back into Similipal in January 2025, Zeenat spent months settling in before pairing with resident male T-12. In May this year she gave birth to four cubs — the first successful litter from the reserve’s supplementation programme. Similipal’s cub count has climbed from 12 to 16, and Odisha’s forest department is now preparing the next phase, which aims to bring six unrelated tigers into the reserve over five years.

International Tiger Day falls on Wednesday. Zeenat’s cubs won’t know it’s being marked. They’ll just keep following her through the sal forest.

Sources: The Better India

India Wildlife News aggregates wildlife stories from across Indian media to bring the latest from the field to enthusiasts, conservationists, and curious readers — all in one place. Full credit and links to original sources are provided. We encourage readers to visit and support the original publishers.