Ultra-rare BLACK tiger is spotted in India: Stunned animal lover photographs predator with highly unusual colouring – thought to exist in fewer than ten tigers
- An extremely rare black tiger has been spotted in Odisha, India, by amateur photographer Soumen Bajpayee
- The species, otherwise known as the melanistic tiger, can only be found Odisha and is nearing extinction
- A Wildlife Institute of India scientist claims there are only seven to eight of the tigers left in the Indian state
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An extremely rare black tiger has been spotted in India by a stunned animal lover.
The species, otherwise known as the melanistic tiger, can only be found in Odisha, India, and experts claim there are only seven to eight of the animals left in the state.
Amateur photographer Soumen Bajpayee pictured the predator, which is on the verge of extinction, in eastern Odisha.
The species is known as the melanistic tiger because of a gene defect which means their thick black stripes, with little space between them, hide the orange fur.
The rare black tiger was spotted in eastern Odisha, India, by amateur photographer Soumen Bajpayee
The species, otherwise known as the melanistic tiger, can only be found in Odisha, India, and experts claim there are only seven to eight of the animals left in the state
The black tiger is found in the jungles of the Indian state and has rarely been seen in the past.
India is home to 70 per cent of the world’s tiger population.
The melanistic black tigers are only found in Odisha state and their numbers have drastically declined in recent years, according to a 2018 Tiger Census Report.
The majority of the black tigers can be found in the Simplipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha. The reserve first reported the presence of melanistic tigers in 2007.
The species is known as the melanistic tiger because of a gene defect which means their thick black stripes, with little space between them, hide the orange fur
Dr Bivash Pandav, a wildlife expert and scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, told the Times of India that he believed there are only seven to eight black tigers left in the Indian state.
He said the black tigers are ‘unique’ in the world for their genetic constitution. It is believed they get their thick black stripes due to inbreeding.
The black tigers are smaller in size than their counterparts, and were first spotted in India in 1990.
They remain in Odisha due to the vast forests and varied habitat.
But wildlife experts claim poaching has taken a toll on the entire tiger population – they are targeted for their bones, claws, skin and whiskers.
But the forest department in Odisha says the problem is not poaching but a result of an increasing human population. The higher levels of urbanisation is shrinking the space for tigers to live and breed, according to NDTV.