Baripada: In a significant crackdown on wildlife crime, the Odisha Forest Department has seized the skin of a rare melanistic tiger and arrested nine individuals in Mayurbhanj district.
Addressing a presser on Monday, Baripada DFO Gobind Chandra Biswal on Monday said that two suspects were initially apprehended in the Kuliana area o Baripada forest division, a region falling within the protected Similipal Tiger Reserve, while in possession of the tiger skin. “Their interrogation and subsequent investigation led to the arrest of four more individuals, followed by the detention of three additional suspects,” he stated, emphasising that those responsible for the killing of this rare tiger would not be spared.
These arrested were made on Sunday while the tiger is suspected to have been killed about two months ago.
Melanistic tigers, distinguished by their dramatic, dark-striped coats resulting from a rare pseudo-melanism genetic mutation, are found exclusively in Similipal Tiger Reserve. The poaching has sparked considerable alarm, as only 13 such tigers were counted in the reserve during the All Odisha Tiger Estimation in 2023-24.
The incident is particularly concerning given the substantial funding for Similipal with over Rs 100 crore allocated annually by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Odisha government to support tiger protection, habitat enhancement, and strengthened anti-poaching measures.
