The translocation effort aimed at enhancing the genetic diversity of tigers in Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve has received a major boost, with tigress Zeenat, brought from Maharashtra, giving birth to four cubs. Photographs of Zeenat gently carrying her cubs in her mouth within the reserve have since gone viral.

“Today, a proud chapter has been added to Odisha’s natural resources and wildlife conservation efforts. Tigress Zeenat, relocated from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, has given birth to four cubs in the conducive environment of Similipal,” Chief Minister Mohan Majhi announced on X on Tuesday (June 2, 2026).

“This success not only signifies an increase in the tiger population in the State but also stands as an excellent testament to our administrative foresight in protecting biodiversity and creating a safe and robust habitat for wildlife,” said Mr. Majhi.

Odisha Chief Minister further said, “Special measures have been taken by the Forest Department to ensure the safety of the mother and cubs, and their movements are being continuously monitored. Thanks to the dedicated vigil and effective conservation policies of our forest staff, Odisha has today established itself as a secure sanctuary for wildlife.”

“Our government remains fully committed to preserving the ecological balance of Similipal intact and strengthening the State’s wildlife conservation initiatives in the days ahead,” he asserted.

After her translocation from Maharashtra in 2025, Zeenat had a troubled phase last year. Following 10 days of acclimatisation in the core area of Similipal, the tigress, while attempting to establish her territory, strayed into Jharkhand and then West Bengal in the first week of December, putting the forest departments of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal on alert.

The tigress was tranquilised and captured in West Bengal on December 29, 2025. After a medical examination, the tigress was brought back to Similipal on the directions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Subsequently, a special enclosure was created in southern Similipal, while forest department officials kept a strict vigil on Zeenat.

A sizeable number of tigers in Similipal displays pseudo-melanism, characterised by black stripes much more pronounced than the typical colouration of a Royal Bengal Tiger. It is largely due to the result of inbreeding. Under NTCA supervision, Zeenat and another tiger, Jamuna, were released into the Similipal to improve genetic diversity.

According to the Similipal Tiger Reserve authorities, Zeenat was released into a soft enclosure created for Jamuna in the southern division. The southern part covers a major portion of Simlipal’s core area and has denser forest cover and no anthropogenic pressure. The tigress would remain under observation, and in the process, she would continue acclimatising before being released into the wild, the authorities said.

The Odisha government had earlier planned to bring six pairs of tigers from other States to Similipal. Zeenat giving birth to four cubs assumes significant importance for the State Forest department, especially after an earlier experiment to introduce tigers in Satkosia Tiger Reserve had failed. A tiger brought from Madhya Pradesh and released into Satkosia died after falling into a poacher’s trap, while another was sent back to Madhya Pradesh after facing hostility from people within Satkosia Reserve Forest.

By >William Feeney 

The Silk Road snaked across continents for more than a thousand years, shaping civilisations in East and West. Famously trodden by Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan, the trade route brought riches to Europe and plagues to Asia. But it is not just humans who hold its legacy. For new research shows that the genes of the modern horse were forged along the way.

In a paper published in the journal > Molecular Ecology , Cambridge University zoologist Vera Warmuth and her colleagues investigate factors that affected the genes of modern horses in Eurasia. They wanted to know what explains the genetic structure of modern horses. Was it geographic factors such as the Caspian and Black seas, Himalayan Mountains or massive geographic distances, which are known to shape the genetic structure of other animal populations? Or was it human trade routes? 

Warmuth used genetic samples from 455 horses from 17 remote locations spanning Mongolia and China in the East, through to Ukraine and Lithuania in the West. A minimum of 15 samples from each location was taken to calculate genetic diversity of each location and overcome other sampling biases.

The genetic diversity of the horses was calculated in each of the 17 populations – to test how similar or different are these horses and populations from one another. Other factors were considered to explain the genetic structure of the chosen horse populations.

Warmuth found that when geographic distance was taken into account in the analyses, the Silk Road network was an important predictor of gene flow between populations of horses. Ancient human trade facilitated population mixing in horses as far as 8000km apart. Travelling along more arduous Silk Road routes, for instance across the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, was probably more “costly” because less evidence of gene flow was seen in these areas.

Grassland and arid desert routes equally explained genetic variation between populations. Because grassland routes would probably be easier to travel than desert routes, Warmuth concludes that horses were in demand and extensively traded in desert areas.

Finally, Warmuth found that horses from within the former Soviet Union countries are no more similar to one another than horses from outside this area. In other words this study suggests that these horses are likely a product of ancient and long-term trading along the Silk Road routes rather than a product of recent trading practices. This is perhaps not too surprising, given the long generation spans of horses (approximately eight years). Alternatively, this may imply that the trade bloc of the former Soviet Union was not as effective as many have suggested, at least when it comes to horses.

These results help us understand how ancient human movement patterns have shaped the modern horse of Eurasia, as well as giving insight into the difficulties endured by those that traded along the more arduous areas of these paths.

William Feeney receives funding from the Australian National University and Australian Geographic. He is affiliated with the Australian National University. 

This article was originally published at >The Conversation . Read the >original article .