Similipal tiger

An unusual tiger color phenomenon was recorded in the Similipal National Wildlife Refuge in India, which could shed new light on the genetics of these majestic animals. In 1993, a young tiger with an unusual coat pattern was killed in the village of Podaged. Its characteristics were compared with another skin confiscated from a hunter. Both skins are characterized by broad stripes that make the orange background appear to be dominated by the black fur. This phenomenon, known as pseudomelanism, could have significant implications for the study of felid coloration.

A curious case of a tiger with unusual coloration was recently observed in the Similipal reserve. In July 1993, a young animal with a curious pattern was killed in the village of Podaged, west of Similipal. A few months earlier, the Indian Museum of Natural History acquired a nearly identical skin, confiscated from a hunter and smuggler in New Delhi. Both skins were examined by Dr. Lala Singh and described in numerous articles published in India.

What makes them unique and completely different from all previously known tiger coat colors is the considerable width of the stripes. They are so extensive that they merge in many places, reducing the usual orange background to a few streaks and longitudinal patches, sandwiched between vast expanses of black fur. This surprising color arrangement, at first glance, might mistakenly suggest that the actual background color is black, marked with a few thin orange stripes—the opposite of the coat and pattern of ordinary tigers.

It is not yet known what genetic mechanisms determine this unusual coat pattern, in which the pattern largely obscures the characteristic orange background. However, the phenomenon has its own name: pseudomelanism. It has also been observed in leopards. As the name suggests, this is an abnormal coloration found among tabby and spotted felines. The pattern type does not change in this case, but is concealed by the unusually dark background. An example is the melanistic variant of the spotted leopard—the black panther.