Black tigers are extremely rare in the world – in fact, there are only 6 of them in the world. They are also called as melanistic tigers, and they have thick black stripes covering their orange fur.
Found only in the remote jungles of India, these tigers always remain out of sight, and they are very rarely seen in the open.
Which makes this particular extremely precious for this amateur photographer, who will never forget this day when he actually got a black tiger on camera.
People used to think that black tigers were not real
This photographer named Soumen took the pictures of this extremely rare black tiger in the eastern part of the Odissa state in India. In the last few years, they were hardly ever seen – and while some people thought they were extinct, many others started to think that black tiger was a fabled creature that was only myth.
Since only 6 of them exist in the world, they are considered almost extinct. They are only found in these jungles and they are actually somewhat smaller than the common yellow-orange tigers.
This is what the photographer said
Soumen is a 27-year old student from Kolkata, and he was visiting the sanctuary when he saw the black tiger.
“I was surprised and felt fortunate to have seen the tiger. I was watching various birds and monkeys in the trees when I suddenly saw something which looked like a tiger but not like a usual tiger.”
He added:
“Back then I didn’t have any idea about melanistic tigers. Then suddenly it appeared from the woods, stayed for few seconds and walked back behind the trees.”
He didn’t realize he was seeing an extremely special animal
Although, Soumen didn’t realize that this tiger was an extremely rare and special tiger.
“Initially I didn’t even recognise what happened as I saw a completely different tiger. I had seen many tigers before both in the wild and in captivity but this was completely a different one. I was extremely grateful to see it myself even though it was for few seconds.”
Nandankan sanctuary in Odissa is the only sanctuary that has black tigers.
Featured Image Courtesy: Soumen