Melanistic tigers have been recorded only in the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha.
As per the 2022 cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation, 16 individuals were recorded at Similipal Tiger Reserve, out of which 10 were melanistic.
A Standard Operating Procedure has been issued by the NTCA for active management towards rehabilitation of tigers from source areas at the landscape level.
Based on genetic composition, the Similipal Tiger Reserve has been identified as a distinct genetic cluster for conservation.
Funding assistance is provided under the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH) to the Similipal Tiger Reserve for conservation of tigers, raising awareness on tiger & other wildlife conservation, habitat management, protection, eco-development, human resource and infrastructure development, voluntary village relocation, as per sanctioned Annual Plan of Operation of the Tiger Reserve which emanates from a statutory Tiger Conservation Plan.
An extremely rare black tiger was caught on camera by an amateur photographer in Odisha. The wild cat was pictured by photographer Soumen Bajpayee in Odisha’s Similipal Tiger Reserve.
The tiger species known as the melanistic tiger is found only in India.
The species derives its name because of a gene defect, which means that their thick black stripes, with little space between them, hide the orange fur. It is believed that inbreeding results in their thick black stripes.
They are actually Bengal tigers but slightly smaller than them.
