Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR): Location, Characteristics and Prominent Tribes

Similipal Tiger Reserve, now the 107th National Park of India, is a biodiversity hotspot in Odisha known for its rich wildlife, dense forests, and conservation of tigers and elephants.

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Context: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has ordered a probe into allegations of fraudulent relocation of tribals from the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR).

The Odisha government has notified the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), the world’s only home to wild melanistic tigers, as a national park. It will be the 2nd National Park of Odisha after Bhitarkanika.

About Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR)

Location: Mayurbhanj District, in the northernmost part of Odisha.
Similipal is a National Park, Tiger Reserve & Biosphere Reserve.
Flora: A 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.
Characteristics
- 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 has also been a part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2009.
Similipal Tiger Reserve (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.

Black Tigers

In India, Melanistic Tigers are found in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) only.
According to the Odisha Tiger Estimation conducted this year, out of the total 24 adult tigers in Similipal, 13 are pseudo-melanistic.

Translocation of Zeenat

Zeenat was recently translocated from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Maharashtra, to the Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR).
Translocation was aimed to boost the genetic diversity of tigers in STR, where inbreeding has caused many tigers to display pseudo-melanism (characterised by excessive black stripes).
The translocation was supervised by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).