SIMILIPAL TIGER RESERVE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Similipal Tiger Reserve

• About: Similipal is a tiger reserve in the Mayurbhanj district in the Indian state of Odisha covering 2,750 km2 (1,060 sq mi).
• Located: In the Mayurbhanj District of Odisha’s northernmost region.
• Declared as: Tiger Reserve in the year 1956 under Project Tiger in May 1973.
• UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: Declared in 1994 by the government of India
• Fauna: Sambar, Chital, Barking deer, Leopard cat, Fishing Cat, Jungle Cat, Flying squirrel, Mongoose, and Pangolin
• Flora: Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests ecoregion, tropical moist broadleaf forest and tropical moist deciduous forests with dry deciduous hill forest and high-level Sal forests
• River: Budhabalanga, Salandi, and many tributaries of the Baitarani river
• Other Tiger Reserve: Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Bhubaneswar

Black Tiger

• About: A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies.
• Reason of black colour: So-called black tigers are due to pseudo-melanism. Pseudo-melanistic tigers have thick stripes so close together that the tawny background is barely visible between stripes.
• Presence: Melanistic tigers have been recorded only in the Similipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha. As per the 2022 cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation, 16 individuals were recorded at Similipal Tiger Reserve, out of which 10 were melanistic.