Baripada, April 27: A Royal Bengal tiger has covered nearly 1,500 km, crossing multiple forests and state boundaries, to reach the dense jungles of Similipal Tiger Reserve—apparently in search of a tigress named Jinnat. The big cat has been roaming the northern parts of the reserve for the past five months.

Forest officials said the 4–5-year-old tiger entered Odisha from Chhattisgarh between August and September, moving through Sundargarh, Bamra-Gangpur, Deogarh and Keonjhar forests before reaching Similipal in December. Its presence was confirmed through trap cameras.

Jinnat, a tigress brought from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in November 2024, is currently roaming within Similipal after earlier straying into forests of Jharkhand and West Bengal. She is being tracked via a radio collar, while the male tiger’s movement is monitored through camera traps.

Officials say both tigers are of similar age and may have been part of the same central Indian landscape earlier. The prolonged stay of the male tiger in Similipal is being seen as a positive sign, indicating a conducive habitat for big cats in Odisha’s premier tiger reserve.