Summary:
BHUBANESWAR: The wildlife wing of Odisha 's forest department has confirmed the presence of a black panther in Garjanpahad reserve forest of Hemgiri range in Sundargarh district. Though the forest department had claimed the presence of a black panther here 26 years ago, it did not have evidence to corroborate its claim then. "It is the first-ever footage of a black panther in the state. "It is good for the habitat that we have melanistic panthers and tigers," Tripathy added. "A melanistic tiger was first spotted in Similipal in 1993..