Odisha government has decided to set up a black tiger safari (an exclusive Melanistic Tiger Safari), the first of its kind in the world, near the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) in Mayurbhanj district.
Key points
- A proposal in this respect submitted by the state government to NTCA has been accorded “in-principle” approval by the Authority’s Technical Committee.
- The state government has identified about 200 hectares adjoining National Highway 18 for the establishment of the proposed safari.
- About 100 hectares will be a ‘display area’. The other 100 hectares shall be utilised for the creation of veterinary care facilities including rescue centre, staff infrastructure, visitor amenities, etc.
Black tigers
- Black tigers are not a separate subspecies. They are Bengal tigers with a gene mutation, which gives them their distinctive dark stripe patterns.
- They have been recorded in the wild only in STR, according to the India Tiger Estimation Report published by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in 2018.
- STR has the highest number of black tiger sightings in the world. The cats, called ‘pseudo-melanistic’ or ‘false-coloured’, were officially recorded for the first time in the forests of Similipal during 1975-76.
- Acording to the Union Ministry of Environment, there are 10 black tigers in India and all are found exclusively in Odisha’s STR.
