Similipal’s Rare Black Tiger featured on National Geographic; Odisha to launch unique safari

Bhubaneswar, Sep 19 (UNI) Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supremo Naveen Patnaik has expressed delight over Similipal’s rare black tiger being featured on the cover of National Geographic.
Taking to his X handle, Patnaik wrote: “Glad to know that Similipal’s rare Black Tiger is being featured on the cover of National Geographic (@NatGeo) in the October 2025 edition.

Indeed, a proud moment for #Odisha. Thank Indian photographer Prasenjeet Yadav for capturing this breathtaking image of the melanistic tigers, found exclusively in Similipal.”
Patnaik, who served as Chief Minister for 24 years, recalled that in January 2024, his government had announced the world’s first Melanistic Tiger Safari near Baripada to showcase this rare and majestic species.

The so-called “black tigers” are melanistic Royal Bengal Tigers, found only in Simlipal National Park and Tiger Reserve in Odisha.

They are not a separate species but Bengal tigers with a genetic mutation that increases melanin levels. This causes their stripes to appear enlarged and closely spaced, giving a darker, shadowy look.
Nowhere else in the world does this natural mutation occur.
As per 2022 estimates, 10 out of 16 tigers in the reserve show melanistic traits.

The condition is caused by a mutation in the Taqpep gene, responsible for pigmentation. Because the tigers are not completely black but display dense dark stripes over an orange coat, the trait is also called pseudo-melanism.
Similipal’s dense forests, hilly terrain, and biodiversity make it the only natural habitat of melanistic tigers. Conservation initiatives are ongoing to preserve this rare genetic cluster and maintain the ecological balance of the reserve.

“A melanistic tiger safari, the first of its kind in the world, will be established at Similipal in Odisha. The Central Zoo Authority has already given its approval for the establishment of a melanistic tiger safari at Similipal,” official sources said.

The Similipal Tiger Reserve is the only place in the world where melanistic tigers are found in the wild. According to the latest Tiger Estimation report published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in 2018, melanistic tigers have only been found in the wild at the Similipal Tiger Reserve.