Baripada (Odisha), March 23 The Odisha forest department has arrested nine people and seized the skin of a rare melanistic tiger during a crackdown in the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), an official said on Monday.
The arrests and seizure were made on Sunday by the special enforcement wing of the forest department and STR at Kuliana village, Baripada DFO Govind Chandra Biswal said.
Acting on a tip-off, a team from Baripada Forest Division seized the melanistic tiger skin from two people, while carrying out a raid, he said.
"During further investigation, another seven people were arrested," he added.
He added that the melanistic tiger, aged around three years, was killed in Similipal Tiger Reserve about a month ago.
The reserve is the only place in India where melanistic Royal Bengal tigers are found.
This was the second seizure of a melanistic tiger skin in the last two years from the fringe areas of the Similipal Tiger Reserve, officials said.
A melanistic tiger, often called a black tiger, is a rare color variation of the Bengal tiger caused by a genetic mutation (pseudo-melanism) that produces thick, dense black stripes covering much of their orange coat, rather than a solid black appearance.
