Airliners-India.com

karatecatman · Guest

Rare black tigers sighted at Similipal
[url]
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEQ20070602121605&Page=Q&Title=ORISSA&Topic=0[/url]
Quote:
BHUBANESWAR: Three rare black tigers have been sighted at Similipal Orissa's only tiger reserve, by the surveying teams of Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

link doesnt work?
_________________
eP007

karatecatman · Guest

Reposting a new link from The Hindu:
Bhubaneswar, June 4 (PTI) Three rare Melanistic Indian tigers have been spotted in the Similipal National Park in Orissa's Mayurbhanj district.

Official sources said that rare black tigers were spotted at the state's only tiger reserve during the ongoing tiger census through camera-trap method. The census is being conducted by the surveyors from Wildlife Institute of India by installing cameras in 30 different locations in the core area of the 2750 sq km national park.

"The cameras captured the pictures of one female and two cubs of black colour," the sources said, adding the survey team had so far captured pictures of six tigers of whom three were black in colour.

The tigers had light brown coat with jet black stripes which is due to genetic reasons. "The sample census is being conducted only in 120 sq km area," said chief wildlife warden Suresh Mohanty. The core area inside the park is spread over 850 sq km.

While describing existence of black tigers in Similipal National Park as 'usual', Mohanty said. Noted tiger expert and former chief wildlife warden of Orissa Saroj Kumar Patnaik told PTI that the black tigers were earlier spotted way back in 1993 at Pedagarh in the park area. This apart, the black tigers were spotted for the second time in 2004 at Debasthal in the core area, Patnaik said.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200706041964.htm

karatecatman · Guest

This is the Express story:
BHUBANESWAR: Three rare black tigers have been sighted at Similipal Orissa's only tiger reserve, by the surveying teams of Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

During the on-going enumeration through the camera-trap methodology as part of nationwide tiger census, the cameras captured images of three different melanistic tigers known as black tigers, reliable sources told this paper on Saturday.

The survey teams which are currently carrying out the census, on a sampling basis, captured images of these three black tigers near the Upper Barakamuda and Devasthali regions in the tiger reserve's core area.

The survey is now being conducted over a 120 sq km region out of the 850 sq km core area of the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

In fact, the cameras have so far captured images of six different tigers in the survey area of which three are melanistic suggesting that their strength could be reasonably good in STR.

Since the census work is still on, the matter is still under wraps. In fact, it would be officially released once the survey teams submit their report to the Dehradun-based WII while the Forest Department officials are tight lipped over the entire issue.

In the past, there have been reports of black or melanistic tiger inhabiting in STR but only once was it recorded. On July 21, 1993, a tribal boy killed a young melanistic tigress with traditional weapons while defending himself.

The incident occurred at Podagarh village near the Bhandan river to the west of Similipal. BC Prusty, the then Field Director of STR had videotaped it.

Elsewhere in India, the skin of the melanistic tiger was recovered from the smugglers at Tis Hazari in October 1992. Measured at eight feet and half, it is currently at National Museum of Natural History at New Delhi.

The source, however, remains uncertain.