Simlipal Tiger Reserve

About Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR)

Location: Mayurbhanj District, in the Northern-most part of Odisha.
It is a National Park, Tiger Reserve & Biosphere Reserve.
Flora: Mix of deciduous with some semi-evergreen forests. Sal is the dominant tree species.
Fauna: Tiger, Elephant, Leopard, Barking deer, jungle cat, four-horned antelope etc.
- It holds the highest tiger population in the state of Odisha.
- Black tigers (melanistic tigers) are found here.
At Least 12 rivers cut across the Tiger reserve, all of which drain into the Bay of Bengal.
- Budhabalanga, Palpala Bandan, Salandi, Kahairi and Deo.
Prominent tribes: Erenga Kharias, Mankirdia, Khadia, Kolha etc.
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: Declared a biosphere reserve in 1994.
- It is also a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2009.
STR is part of the Mayurbhanj Elephant Reserve, which also includes the Hadagarh Wildlife Sanctuary and Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary.

Melanistic Tigers (Black Tigers)

Black tigers are a rare colour variant of the Royal Bengal tiger, with thick, dark stripes covering their brown skin.
This is due to a condition called melanism, which results in dark pigmentation in animals.
This unique appearance results from a mutation in the Transmembrane Aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep) gene.
In India Melanistic Tigers are found in STR only.
According to the Odisha Tiger Estimation conducted this year, out of the total 24 adult tigers in Similipal, 13 are pseudo-melanistic.