Rare black tiger on brink of extinction caught on camera

A rare black tiger on the brink of extinction has been photographed in the wild.

Amateur photographer Soumen Bajpayee, 27, captured images of the melanistic tiger in eastern Odisha, India.

The species is found only in the jungles of the Indian state and only six are known to exist in the wild.

The tigers, which are smaller than their regular counterparts, have thick black stripes covering their orange fur.

Learn more: Aldi shopper spots panic-bought stockpiles of rice and pasta

Bajpayee was visiting Simlipal Wildlife Sanctuary and Nandankanan Sanctuary when he spotted the tiger.

He said: “I was surprised and felt lucky to have seen the tiger.

“I was watching various birds and monkeys in the trees when I suddenly saw something that looked like a tiger but not a usual tiger.

“At the time, I had no idea what melanistic tigers were.

“Then suddenly he appeared out of the woods, stayed for a few seconds and came back behind the trees.”

Camera traps revealed that only six or seven melanistic tigers were found in the Simlipal reserve and Nandankanan sanctuary in Odisha.

Learn more: More police to patrol streets on last night of freedom before lockdown

Bajpayee, who is studying for a Masters in Technology in Kolkata, West Bengal, hopes that the tigers will mate with other tiger species so that they have a chance of producing more melanistic cubs.

He added: “At first I didn’t even recognise what had happened because I saw a completely different tiger.

“I had seen many tigers before, both in the wild and in captivity, but this one was completely different.

“Nandankan is the first sanctuary to feature melanistic tigers, but there is no guarantee that you will see them because in Nadankanan they roam in a natural environment and their number is only one or two.

“I was extremely grateful to be able to see it for myself, even if it was only for a few seconds.”

Video: Can you get coronavirus twice?