scorecardresearch
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeIndiaAssam: Rare golden tiger sighted at Kaziranga

Assam: Rare golden tiger sighted at Kaziranga

Follow Us :
Text Size:

Guwahati, Jan 25 (PTI) A rare Royal Bengal Tiger of golden morph was sighted at the Kaziranga National Park (KNP) in Assam, officials said on Thursday.

The Adult male tiger was spotted by a photographer who was visiting the park along with a local guide, KNP director Sonali Ghosh said.

The golden phenotype, as demonstrated by the Kaziranga Tiger, is a rare recessive trait and is currently being investigated through non-invasive scat sampling and DNA mapping at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, she said.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma shared a photograph of the tiger on X, and said, “Majestic Beauty! A rare golden tiger was recently spotted in Kaziranga National Park.” Ghosh said diverse forms of pigmentation phenotypes are known in many species of birds, butterflies, wild ungulates, domesticated animals and also in humans.

Phenotypic variations are driven by evolutionary forces such as selection and random genetic drift, she pointed out.

Tigers have a unique striping pattern that is known to exist in several coat colour variants, Ghosh said.

The most famous being the pseudo-melanistic morph that is found in Simlipal Tiger Reserve in Odisha, while the white tiger is a recessive trait and is now only confined to zoos, she added. PTI DG DG SOM

This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

  • Tags

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular