Baripada: A rare melanistic tiger was found dead inside the core area of Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on Sunday.
The tiger identified as T 27, a male aged about 3.5 years was detected dead on the morning of April 30th by Similipal South Wildlife Division staff at Badamakkabadi 11 beat area of Nawana South Range, informed Ashok Kumar, Field Director, STR cum RCCF, Baripada Circle.
Based on injury marks on the big cat’s body, Forest Department officials suspect that the preliminary cause of death could be due to infighting between two male tigers in their territory. However, the exact reason behind the tiger’s death is yet to be ascertained.
“Prima facie, it appears to be the result of infighting between two male tigers over their territory. There were injury marks on the carcass. Necessary action will be taken on the basis of the post-mortem report,” said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) Sushil Kumar Popli.
As per protocol Forest Department officials informed the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) about the tiger’s death. NTCA protocol demands that the death of a tiger should be reported to it irrespective of whether its death was due to natural causes or other causes like poaching.
The Field Director STR has informed that post-mortem of the carcass has been conducted by Veterinarians in the presence of an NTCA representative and other officials.
He said samples are being sent to the Orissa University of Agriculture Technology (OUAT) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for analysis.
The findings will give a clear picture to know the exact cause of death, he added.
Simlipal Tiger Reserve is the only tiger habitat in the world to have melanistic tigers that have broad black stripes running across their bodies and are thicker than those seen in normal tigers, so much so that their tawny skin colour is barely visible.
The STR first reported the presence of melanistic tigers in 2007. In 2016, a census carried out by the Forest Department in the reserve found six melanistic tigers.
