Extremely rare “Black Tiger” spotted roaming in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: An amateur photographer got lucky enough to capture one of Odisha’s rarest black tiger. The photographer, Soumen Bajpayee, saw the tiger at Nandankana Sanctuary in eastern Odisha, India, which are on the verge of extinction.

This species, otherwise known as a melanistic tiger – a rare gene pool on which the black stripes are far more prominent than the Royal Bengal Tigers – are only found in Odisha. Experts claim there are only seven to eight tigers that are alive today.

The black tigers are smaller in size than their counterparts and were first spotted in India in 1990. 

They remain in Odisha due to the vast forests and varied habitat.

Meanwhile, experts claim poaching has taken a toll on the entire tiger population. They are targeted for their bones, claws, skin, and whiskers.

According to a report by NDTV, the forest department in Odisha says the problem is not poaching but a result of an increasing human population. The higher levels of urbanisation are shrinking the space for tigers to live and breed, the report said.