Melanistic Tiger (Black Tiger)

Published on 10 Apr 2025

 

• The Odisha government plans to launch the world’s first melanistic tiger safari near Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR). 
• Melanism, a genetic condition causing increased melanin production, results in black or nearly black skin, feathers, or hair in animals. 
•  Similipal’s royal Bengal tigers possess a unique lineage with elevated melanin levels, manifesting as black and yellow interspersed stripes, though they are not entirely black and are termed pseudo-melanistic. 
• Research by the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, suggests that a single mutation in the Transmembrane Aminopeptidase Q gene causes these black tigers to develop stripes. Genetic analyses hint that Similipal’s black tigers may have originated from a small founding population, leading to inbreeding.
• The STR, which sprawls over 2,750 square km in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district adjoining Jharkhand and West Bengal, is Asia’s second largest biosphere, and the country’s only wild habitat for melanistic royal Bengal tigers.

Keywords:

Melanistic Tiger Simlipal Sanctuaries Conservation Biodiversity Wildlife