The government informed the Parliament today that there are a total of 10 "black tigers" in India all
exclusively found in Odisha's Similipal Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj district.
WHAT ARE BLACK OR MELANISTIC TIGERS?
On Thursday, the Union Minister of State for Environment, Ashiwini Kumar Choubey, told the Rajya
Sabha that "melanistic tigers" have been documented only in the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha. The
melanistic tiger or black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger that is not a distinct species or
geographic subspecies of the animal. Melanistic tigers have distinctive dark stripes on their coats
because of genetic mutation.
As per the 2022 cycle of the pan-India tiger estimation exercise, the Similipal Tiger Reserve has 16 tigers,
of which 10 exhibit melanism, the Minister said. He added that the Similipal Tiger Reserve has been
identified as a distinct conservation cluster due to its genetic composition.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO SIMLIPAL TIGER RESERVE OVER THE PAST YEARS
The Similipal Tiger Reserve has received a financial support of INR 32.75 crore for wildlife conservation,
habitat management, human resource, and infrastructure development under the centrally sponsored
scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH) over the past 5 years.
Bengali