Sumatran Tiger in Aceh Found Safe But in Weak Condition

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Sumatran tiger (Pantera Tigris Sumatrae) was found safe but in weak condition after it got trapped in a wild boar trap that locals in Southeast Aceh District, Aceh Province, set up in their farming area, a conservationist said.

"Alhamdulillah (Thank God), the tiger's condition is now stable after receiving medical care," Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) Head Agus Arianto informed ANTARA being contacted from Meulaboh on Sunday.

The tiger, whose age is estimated to be between one and one an a half years old, was recently found in a boar trap that several residents of Gulo Village set up in their farmland near the Mount Leuser National Park (TNGL) area.

When the villagers found the Sumatran tiger, its condition was weak due to dehydration and its right leg was injured because of the wild boar trap, Agus Arianto said.

The BKSDA officials received information on the ill-fated tiger. Soon after that, along with the national park rangers, policemen, and military personnel, they evacuated the endangered animal to the TNGL checkpoint for getting medical care.

The tiger's wounds were still supervised by veterinary practitioners in the TNGL regional office in Kutacane, Southeast Aceh District, until they got recovered, he said.

"After getting recovered, we are releasing the tiger to its habitat," Agus Arianto said.

ANTARA noted that in Indonesia, Sumatran tigers were the only surviving tiger species as the country had already lost two sub-species of tigers to extinction: the Bali tiger that became extinct in 1937 and the Javan tiger in the 1970s.

Sumatran tigers, the smallest of all tigers, are currently a critically endangered species only found on Sumatra Island, Indonesia’s second-largest island.

The tigers are on the brink of extinction owing to deforestation, poaching, and conflicts between wild animals and local people owing to their dwindling habitats.

The exact figure of Sumatran tigers left in the wild is ambiguous, though the latest estimates range, from under 300 to possibly 500 at 27 locations, including in the Kerinci Seblat National Park, Tesso Nilo Park, and Gunung Leuser National Park.

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), their numbers have decreased, from about one thousand in the 1970s.

The 2009 report by the forestry ministry points to conflict with humans being the biggest threat to conservation. The report cited that on average, five to 10 Sumatran tigers have been killed yearly since 1998.

Also Read: 2 Sumatran Tigers Reintroduced to the Wild

ANTARA