Baripada: A rare melanistic tigress was found dead in Similipal National Park in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, an official said Saturday.
The carcass of the five-year-old tigress was found near Deo River in Upper Barhakamuda, a core area at a high-altitude valley in the Similipal hills. There was no external injury mark on the carcass, STR field director Prakash Chand Gogineni said.
We received information about the tigress’s death in the evening of August 6 and rushed to the spot and recovered the carcass. It was fresh and had no external injury, he said.
As per NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) protocol, a detailed investigation was carried out the next day and a post-mortem conducted.
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Samples were collected and sent to a laboratory in OUAT (Odisha University of Agriculture Technology) in Bhubaneswar for a histopathological examination, he said.
The exact cause of the tigress’s death is not yet ascertained. We are waiting for the laboratory report. As per the NTCA protocol, the carcass was incinerated, Gogineni said.
Notably, black or pseudo-melanistic tigers, with a distinctive dark stripe pattern, are rare and are found in Similipal National Park in Odisha.
