Bhubaneswar: The Similipal Tiger Reserve authorities disclosed on Wednesday that a sub-adult male melanistic tiger, whose hide was recently seized, had been killed on the reserve's fringes in the first week of February. However, officials have not yet been able to identify the big cat from the stripe pattern on the hide.
The melanistic tiger skin was confiscated from three individuals who were arrested on May 21. During interrogation, the suspects revealed details that led authorities to determine the timing of the killing. "From interrogation of the arrested people and corroborating their version with the local intelligence, we found that the melanistic sub-adult male tiger was killed in February first week. Besides the three arrested, there are others involved in the poaching because it requires expert hands to extract hide from the tiger carcass," said Similipal field director Prakash Gogineni.
Wildlife authorities explained that the tiger had dispersed too close to human habitation and was trapped in a snare originally set to kill a wild boar. Melanistic tigers are a rare variant of the Royal Bengal Tiger, characterized by more black pigmentation and stripes on their body compared to normal-colored tigers. Similipal is the only place in the world where such tigers are found in the wild.
Efforts to identify the tiger have been challenging. "We have checked some of our database, and so far we have not found a match with the stripe pattern of the seized hide. I have asked the tiger cell to thoroughly check once more for any previous camera trap picture that may match with the hide, which can confirm the exact tiger because we number the tigers once they are captured in camera trap," Gogineni added.
Earlier, Similipal authorities had not ruled out the possibility of such a tiger being hunted within their territory, given its melanistic nature. The skin has been sent for laboratory examination to the Wildlife Institute of India, wildlife officials confirmed.
This incident highlights the ongoing threat to rare wildlife and the challenges in combating poaching in protected areas. The investigation continues to identify all individuals involved in the crime.
