{"id":135268,"date":"2021-09-18T17:14:27","date_gmt":"2021-09-18T11:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=135268"},"modified":"2021-09-21T14:57:43","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T09:27:43","slug":"explained-why-black-tigers-sound-a-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/explained-why-black-tigers-sound-a-warning\/","title":{"rendered":"Explained: Why \u2018black tigers\u2019 sound a warning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
What is the news?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Recently, scientists resolved the genetic mystery of Simlipal\u2019s so-called black tigers.\u00a0Single genetic mutation in these tigers caused black stripes to broaden or spread into the tawny background.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Must Read<\/strong>: Scientists unravel mystery behind Odisha’s ‘black tigers’<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
What is\u00a0pseudo-melanism?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

Tigers have a dark stripe pattern on a light background of white or golden. A rare pattern variant, distinguished by stripes that are broadened and fused together, is also observed in both wild and captive populations. This is known as <\/span>pseudo-melanism<\/span><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is\u00a0a condition\u00a0characterised\u00a0by unusually high deposition of melanin<\/strong>, a dark pigment.\u00a0Truly melanistic tigers are yet to be recorded.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why black tigers are rare?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

Firstly,<\/strong><\/em> mutants are genetic variations which may occur spontaneously, but not frequently, in nature. Pseudo-melanism is caused by a recessive (hidden) gene. A cub gets two copies of each gene from both parents, and a recessive gene can show up only in the absence of the dominant one. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, t<\/span>wo normal-pattern tigers carrying the recessive pseudo-melanism gene will have to breed together for a one-in-four probability of giving birth to a black cub.<\/p>\n

Secondly<\/strong><\/em>, recessive genes are rare, and it is unlikely that two unrelated tigers will carry the same one and pass it on together to a cub. Hence, succession of black tigers is rare.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the recommendations to revive the situation?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, such populations have a high chance of extinction. Hence, studies like the recent one will provide help in safeguarding the futures of endangered species<\/p>\n

Introduction of fresh genes<\/strong> in an isolated pool, depending on the number of migrants, frequency of influx and population size, can also reverse the damage over time.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Restoring natural connectivity between forests<\/strong>: Due to human-induced habitat fragmentation, populations of tigers become isolated within a particular area, resulting in inbreeding and reduced chances of survival. Hence, we should also focus on restoring or maintaining natural connectivity between tiger forests in the long term.<\/p>\n

Source<\/strong>: This post is based on the article \u201cExplained: Why \u2018black tigers\u2019 sound a warning<\/strong>\u201d published in The Indian Express<\/strong> on 18th<\/sup> Sep 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the news? Recently, scientists resolved the genetic mystery of Simlipal\u2019s so-called black tigers.\u00a0Single genetic mutation in these tigers caused black stripes to broaden or spread into the tawny background.\u00a0 Must Read: Scientists unravel mystery behind Odisha’s ‘black tigers’ What is\u00a0pseudo-melanism?\u00a0 Tigers have a dark stripe pattern on a light background of white or… Continue reading Explained: Why \u2018black tigers\u2019 sound a warning<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,9],"tags":[1355,8927,9818],"class_list":["post-135268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-public","tag-biodiversity","tag-biodiversity-conservation","tag-black-tiger","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1703241010},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135268\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}