NTCA green-lights world’s first melanistic tiger safari near Similipal in Odisha
A 200- hectare site adjacent to National Highway 18 in Baripada has been identified as the site for the safari, touted as the world’s first such safari of melanistic tigers
The National Tiger Conservation Authority has green-lighted the world’s first melanistic tiger safari near Similipal tiger reserve of Odisha, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.
A senior forest official said a panel of NTCA that was asked to look into the feasibility of the safari did not raise any objection as Manchabandha reserve forest near Baripada, the proposed site for the safari, is quite far from Similipal Tiger Reserve. The NTCA has now recommended that it be referred to the Central Zoo Authority that would review the project and suggest any changes that may be required in the detailed project report. After the DPR is approved, it will be forwarded to a Supreme Court committee for approval necessary for safari project on forest land.
“The approval from the CZA is now a mere formality,” said a senior wildlife official.
A 200- hectare site adjacent to National Highway 18 in Baripada has been identified as the site for the safari, touted as world’s first such safari of melanistic tigers. The state government plans to release six tigers, four melanistic and two white tigers, in the safari. While three melanistic tigers along with two white tigers will be brought from Nandankanan Zoo, one melanistic tiger will be brought from Ranchi as part of an agreement between the Odisha and Jharkhand governments.
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 thicker than those seen in normal tigers, so much so that their tawny skin colour is barely visible. The reserve first reported the presence of melanistic tigers in 2007. In 2016, a census carried out by the Odisha forest department in the reserve found six melanistic tigers.
Melanistic tigers have an increased production of melanin, that results in black skin, feathers, or hair in an animal. Many royal Bengal tigers of Similipal belong to a unique lineage with higher-than-normal levels of melanin, which gives them black and yellow interspersed stripes on their coats. These tigers are not totally black and are described as pseudo-melanistic.
Over three years ago, researchers, including scientists from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru found that a single mutation in the gene Transmembrane Aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep) caused the tigers develop black stripes and a distinct pattern. During the study, the researchers identified a genetic variant that causes an observable trait change (called phenotype) in tigers. The genetic analysis of other tiger populations in the country and computer simulations suggested that the melanistic tigers in Similipal may have arisen from a very small founding population of tigers and are inbred.
Of the 200-hectare patch, 40 to 50 hectares will be reserved as display area and the balance area utilised for creation of veterinary care facilities including a rescue centre, staff infrastructure and visitors’ amenities among others.