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BHUBANESWAR : In a curious twist of events that may acquire political overtones, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has sought to know from West Bengal’s chief wildlife warden

(CWW) why tigress Zeenat, tranquilised on Sunday at Bankura, was not moved to Odisha and instead housed at Alipore Zoo in Kolkata in violation of protocols. The three year-old Zeenat was

tranquilised by an expert team of Odisha and West Bengal forest departments near Gopalpur village of Bankura district at around 4 pm on Monday after 23 days of its wild exploration. However,

instead of being shifted back to Similipal, the caged tigress was taken to Alipore Zoo reportedly for its health examination by the vets. The apex tiger conservation body sought an answer

as to why the standard operating procedure (SOP) was not followed in relocation of the big cat following its capture in Bankura. The NTCA, in its letter to the head of West Bengal’s wildlife

wing, on Monday stated that the tigress was brought to Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra under a special initiative to improve the

genetic diversity of the big cats in the landscape. “Apprise this authority for the reason why the said tigress was shifted to Alipore Zoo, instead of translocating it back to the state of

Odisha as per the SOP of the NTCA,” said the letter which was accessed by The New Indian Express. The West Bengal CWW was also pointed out that Zeenat is to be released in the wild and in

order to avoid any imprinting or human interaction in captivity, the tigress must be translocated back to STR at the earliest following due process of SOP under section 38 O (2) of the

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.