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The Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district is the only tiger reserve in India that houses the rare black tiger (pseudo-melanistic), which has distinctive dark stripe patterns due to a genetic mutation. The reserve is located in the Mayurbhanj district, at the eastern end of the eastern ghat.
According to an official release from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, "As per the 2022 cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation, 16 tigers were recorded at Similipal Tiger Reserve, out of which 10 were melanistic." Melanistic refers to having very dark skin/hair due to higher-than-normal level of pigment (substance that gives pigmentation to skin/hair is called melanin). A Standard Operating Procedure has been issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) for active management towards the rehabilitation of tigers from source areas at the landscape level, according to the release. Based on its genetic composition, the Similipal Tiger Reserve has been identified as a distinct genetic cluster for conservation, it said. The tigers in the Similipal Tiger Reserve are an isolated population in eastern India and gene flow between them and other tiger populations is very restricted. Due to geographic isolation, genetically related individuals have been mating with each other for many generations, leading to inbreeding. This has important implications for tiger conservation, as isolated and inbred populations are prone to extinction over even short periods of time. Funding assistance is provided under the ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH) to the Similipal Tiger Reserve. It is provided for the conservation of tigers, raising awareness about tiger and other wildlife conservation, habitat management, protection, eco-development, human resource and infrastructure development, and voluntary village relocation, as per the sanctioned Annual Plan of Operation of the Tiger Reserve, which emanates from a statutory Tiger Conservation Plan. (ANI)
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