Images of black tigers caught in India (Photo: Parveen Kaswan).
Parveen Kaswan added that information about a tiger possessing black fur was first recorded in 1993. Specifically, on July 21, 1993, a boy named Salku, living in the village of Podagad in Simlipal sanctuary, saw a tiger with unusual black fur. In 2007, the image of a tiger with black fur was captured by camera traps for the first time in Simlipal.
Kaswan added that tigers with black fur due to genetic mutations have been seen more recently, but they are still basically very rare individuals.
According to scientists, black-haired tiger individuals have a genetic mutation called pseudo-melanistic, causing the black stripes to become thick and close together, obscuring the yellow-orange stripes on the body. tiger’s fur. This genetic mutation is common in small, isolated and inbreeding tiger populations.
In fact, pseudomelanosis occurs in all cheetah species, including tigers, lions, leopards, and jaguars. In particular, this condition is most commonly seen in two species of leopard and jaguar, causing some leopard individuals to possess completely black fur.
It should be noted that black panthers are not a separate species, but are just genetically mutated individuals, so they still have the same size and strength as regular individuals of the same species, instead of being strong. stronger and more resilient as many people mistakenly think.
Theo HT
