Rare Melanistic Tiger Found Dead In Odisha’s Similipal

Baripada: A rare melanistic tiger was found dead in core area of Similipal wildlife sanctuary in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, principal chief conservator of forests and wildlife (PCCF) Sushil Kumar Popli informed on Monday.

He attributed the death to suspected infighting.

According to sources, the death of Royal Bengal Tiger, aged around 3-3.5 years, was reported from Nawana south range of the Similipal south division, the core area of the reserve. A joint task force was sent to the area to collect evidence to ascertain the reason behind its death. Representatives of National Tiger Conservation Authority have also reached as the protocol demands that the death of a tiger for whatsoever reason should be reported to the NTCA.

“We came to know about the incident on Sunday morning. Infighting between two male tigers while defending territories could have led to its death. Primary inquiry confirms injury marks on the carcass. Necessary action will be taken on the basis of the postmortem report,” the PCCF told a local news channel.

While Popli told a national daily that the number of Royal Bengal tigers in the reserve would be around 15, the 2016 all-India tiger survey had put the number adult melanistic tigers at 3. The latest figures will be released in July.

Notably Black or pseudo-melanistic tigers, with distinctive dark stripe pattern, are rare and have only been filmed in Similipal till date. And, the reason behind the majestic black stripes of melanistic tigers is mutation. They are Bengal tigers with a single base mutation in a particular gene.

The reserve is the only home of these melanistic tigers in the world, according to its website.