As many as four pseudo-melanistic tigers have been caught on camera in an Odisha forest. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Susanta Nanda recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share a video of the extraordinary tigers.
Nanda wrote, “Nature never fails to surprise us. This is one of the rarest of the rare… A complete Pseudo melanistic tiger family from the forests of Odisha.”
Hidden cameras installed by the forest department captured the stunning view of the rare tigers. Animal lovers were delighted after Nanda shared the video online.
While Nanda did not mention the forest where the tigers were spotted, social media users assume it to be from the Similipal Tiger Reserve.
“Wow! This is unbelievable! How cool! I can't believe my eyes! #wow,” a user wrote.
“Majestic, nostalgic view this is…” wrote another user.
For the unversed, the melanistic tigers are a rare gene pool on which the black stripes are far more prominent than the Royal Bengal Tigers. Interestingly, they are only found in Odisha. They are referred to as ‘black tigers’ due to their dense and dark stripes.
