Baripada: The number of tigers in Similipal Tiger Reserve has risen to 35, including 19 pseudo-melanistic (black) tigers, according to the latest camera-trap survey conducted by the Forest Department.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden Prem Kumar Jha said the survey identified 35 adult tigers in the reserve. The findings have been submitted to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for verification.
The latest count includes two tigresses, Yamuna and Zeenat, brought from Maharashtra’s Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in 2024 under the tiger supplementation programme.
Of the 35 tigers, 18 are females and 17 are males.
The survey also recorded 16 tiger cubs, up from 12 previously, including four cubs born to Zeenat.
Similipal’s tiger population has shown a steady rise in recent years. The All India Tiger Estimation 2022 recorded 16 tigers in the reserve. An Odisha government survey for 2023-24 put the number at 27, while a camera-trap survey conducted between December 2024 and January 2025 identified 32 tigers.