Melanistic Leopard Spotted in Odisha During Ongoing Camera Trap

Bhubaneswar: Wildlife lovers in Odisha got elated as the forest department informed that it had spotted a black melanistic leopard.

Taking to his X handle, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) informed Susanta Nanda said, “Ongoing camera trap tiger census in Odisha is throwing up some exciting and unexpected presence of wild fauna in our state.”

The PCCF, however, did not mention the exact location where the melanistic tiger was spotted.

Melanistic tigers are seen in Similipal National Park in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.

Odisha is the only state to have melanistic tigers, which are rarely found in the world.

The melanistic tiger was first reported in Similipal in 1993. The first photographic evidence about the presence of the melanistic tiger was captured in 2007.

Melanistic refers to having very dark skin/hair due to higher-than-normal level of the pigment.