Watch: Rare black tiger trying to climb a tree at Odisha’s Simlipal Reserve

Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer and wildlife enthusiast Ramesh Pandey has shared the video of a rare black tiger caught on camera at Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. The majestic tiger tries to climb a tree and then walks away

The so-called black tigers are due to pseudo-melanism which is a genetic mutation. Pseudo-melanistic tigers have thick stripes so close together that the tawny background is barely visible between stripes. In Simlipal National Park, 37% of the tiger population has this condition, which has been linked to isolation and inbreeding, according to Wikipedia.

“Beautiful camera trap video of a melanistic tiger in Similipal Tiger Reserve, Odisha, the only place where we see blackish tigers because of genetic mutations in the population,” the IFS officer wrote.