Rare black tiger found dead in Odisha’s Similipal Reserve

A rare black (pseudo-melanistic) tiger has been found dead in the Similipal National Park in Mayurbhanj district

Mayurbhanj: A rare black (pseudo-melanistic) tiger has been found dead in the Similipal National Park (STR) in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, park officials said on Tuesday indicating that the death was suspected to be due to infighting.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Sushil Kumar Popli confirmed the news of the tiger’s death.

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According to the Field Director of Similipal Tiger Reserve, one tiger death was detected on the morning of April 30 by Similipal South division staff at Badamakkabadi ll beat area, Nawana south range.

The dead tiger has been identified as T 27, male aged about 3.5 years, the field director said.
The death was intimated to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

According to a Park official, the body of the tiger was intact. The samples will be sent to Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and also the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for analysis, the official added.

“Postmortem was conducted in the presence of Representative of NTCA, Joint Task Force (JTF) members, Field Director DD Simlipal, veterinary doctors and other staffs on May 01. The preliminary cause of death is suspected to be infighting between two males based on injury marks on the body. However, the test results will give a clear picture to know the exact cause of death”, the field director said.

After the postmortem the carcass was burnt to ashes, the official said Similipal Tiger Reserve is the only place in the world to house rare black tigers. STR was declared one of the nine Tiger Reserves of India in 1973, it is the second-largest biosphere reserve in Asia and is listed under the UNESCO network of biosphere reserves.