The wildlife in different parts of the world doesn’t cease to surprise and enchant us. Every now and then, pictures of some exotic animals and birds send netizens into a tizzy.
And that is exactly what happened a few days back, when pictures of an extremely rare black tiger surfaced on the internet.
Captured by wildlife enthusiast and amateur photographer Soumen Bajpayee in the Eastern state of Odisha in India, the images of these exotic animals are more than an year old but have gone viral only now. These magnificent creatures were captured at the Nandankanan Sanctuary.
He had put up the images on his Instagram page with the caption, “Melanistic Tigers have genetic changes which make them look different from normal Tigers. Melanistic Tigers can be found both in the Wild and captivity, but, it’s rare.”
“While I was watching various birds and monkeys in the trees, I suddenly saw something which looked like a tiger but not like the usual tiger,” Mr Bajpayee told NDTV. “Back then I didn’t have any idea about melanistic tigers. It suddenly it appeared from the woods, stayed for few seconds and walked back into the trees.”
“I have seen many tigers before both in the wild and in captivity but this was a completely different one. I was extremely grateful to see it myself even though it was for a few seconds,” he added.
These black tigers appear so because of a genetic defect, which causes the presence of thick black stripes on them rather than the conventional golden ones.
According to wildlife experts, there are only a handful of these tigers in India, and they are found only in Odisha.
What do you think about the pictures of these mystical creatures? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
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