India, Jan. 29 -- A melanistic tiger cub was spotted along with a regular cub by tourists during a jungle safari at the Similipal National Park and Tiger Reserve in Mayurbhanj on Tuesday.

The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) of Odisha shared photos of this rare sighting on his X (formerly Twitter) handle. Captured by a tourist named Anirban Pal, the photo highlighted the unique biodiversity of the Similipal Tiger Reserve, which is the only place in the world where melanistic Royal Bengal Tigers are found naturally.

Melanistic tigers, also known as black tigers, are extremely rare and are a result of a genetic mutation that causes their stripes to be much closer together, giving them a distinctive dark appearance.

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