The Odisha government on Thursday (April 24) notified the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), the world’s only home to wild melanistic tigers, as a national park spanning an area of 845.70 sq/km.
It is the 107th national park and the second in the eastern state, after the Bhitarkanika.
Proposed in 1980, the intention to declare Similipal as a National Park remained pending for over four decades.
About Similipal
Similipal, located in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, is home to 40 royal Bengal tigers, shelter to 25% of Odisha’s elephant population and 104 orchid species, many endemic to the region. It is a haven for over 360 species of birds, and diverse mammals like leopards, sambar, and mugger crocodiles.
The forests of Similipal are a mix of sal trees, moist deciduous, and semi-evergreen types, creating a complex and thriving habitat for flora, fauna, and forest-dependent communities.
The tigers of Similipal possess higher-than-normal levels of melanin, giving them coats that are more black with yellow stripes. Due to their unique lineage, they may be accurately described as pseudo-melanistic.
The impact of the move
Calling it a landmark step towards ‘Viksit Bharat, Viksit Odisha’, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said, “The long-awaited declaration strengthens our ecological legacy, uplifts tribal aspirations and reaffirms Odisha’s commitment to sustainable development.”
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The remaining part of the 2,750 sq/km area will be considered as a wildlife sanctuary.
“The final notification acknowledges Similipal’s multi-layered significance as a wildlife sanctuary, project tiger, UNESCO biosphere reserve, and elephant reserve, now united under the highest national ecological recognition,” said Odisha’s principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) PK Jha.
With the declaration of national park status, Jha said the notified area (845.70 sq/km) will now be ‘rights free’ and no human activities will be allowed, in a significant step towards conservation. Limited human activities are allowed in the case of a wildlife sanctuary.
The national park notified area will include flora, fauna, and all other objects of historical and geographic significance. A national park cannot be downgraded to a sanctuary.
Conservation measures by the state
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The state’s forest department is implementing the Greater Similipal Landscape Programme to secure the newly designated national park and its surrounding ecological corridors. This includes camera towers and trail guard camera systems powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), V-SAT communication networks for surveillance in remote zones, and a dedicated security force including one company of trained police personnel and ex-servicemen.
In a step towards the recovery of the tiger population and to diversify the gene pool, two female tigers from Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra have been introduced. “Their successful acclimatisation has set the stage for Similipal’s population to reach 100 tigers by 2036, reinforcing its role in India’s conservation roadmap,” said Jha.
The state government has also launched the Ama Similipal Yojana, an integrated programme for livelihood enhancement and skill training for local communities, promotion of eco-tourism and cultural tourism and infrastructure upgrades in health, education and resource access.