Sumatran tiger killed in suspected poisoning

JUNE 23, 2020

An official takes a sample from the carcass of a male Sumatran tiger found buried at the Batang Gadis national park

A Sumatran tiger has been found dead in a suspected poisoning, an Indonesian official said Tuesday, a day after alleged poachers were charged with killing another of the critically endangered big cats in a separate case.

The buried carcass of a male tiger was uncovered in North Sumatra's Batang Gadis national park following a tip off, according to park authorities, who said some of the creature's pelt as well as organs were missing.

"Our preliminary conclusion is that the tiger was poisoned," park spokesman Bobby Nopandry told AFP.

Locals, including a village head, said the poisoning was orchestrated by farmers who were angry the tiger had killed their livestock, he added.

Human-animal conflicts are common in the Southeast Asian archipelago—especially in areas where the clearing of rainforest to make way for palm oil plantations is destroying natural habitats.

In the past year Sumatra has seen a spate of fatal tiger attacks on humans.

Indonesia is also battling rampant poaching, which accounts for almost all Sumatran tiger deaths, according to TRAFFIC, a global wildlife trade monitoring network.

On Monday police in Sumatra's Aceh province said they had arrested four suspected traffickers for killing a Sumatran tiger and attempting to sell its body parts.

Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild.

Tiger parts are widely used in traditional medicine—particularly in China—despite overwhelming scientific evidence they have no beneficial value.

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Rare Sumatran tiger rescued from beneath shop in Indonesia

November 17, 2018

A rare Sumatran tiger that was trapped beneath the floor of a shop for three days has been rescued, an Indonesian official said Saturday.

The three-year old male was freed from the 75 centimetre (30 inch) crawl space on Burung Island in Riau province at about 1:50 am, the local conservation agency said.

"After the tiger was successfully put to sleep we opened up part of the shop's foundation to do the evacuation," Suharyono, head of the Riau conservation agency, told AFP.

The 80-kilo (180-pound) animal was treated by veterinarians for minor wounds on its legs and cracked canines, officials said.

The big cat became stuck between two buildings in the densely populated market area on Wednesday before freeing himself and then becoming trapped again beneath the building.

Video footage showed the tiger lying on its belly between two concrete foundations, unable to move.

The tiger has been transported to a rehabilitation centre.

Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild and environmental activists say they are increasingly coming into conflict with people as their natural habitat is rapidly deforested.

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Zoological Society of London creates online game to highlight the plight of the Sumatran tigers

The new online game is designed for fun, but also to highlight the world of the rare Sumatran tiger

The Zoological Society of London is inviting animal lovers to embrace their inner-beast and take on the persona of a fearsome predator in a brand new online challenge called Tiger Territory: The Game.

To celebrate the huge success of ZSL London Zoo’s flagship Sumatran tiger exhibit, Tiger Territory: The Game was launched to give budding conservationists and game-addicts alike the chance to experience life as a wild tiger deep in the forests of Indonesia.

With two modes to keep gamers on their toes, players get to grips with their surroundings in the Adventure stage, where they have to unlock 12 achievements. Highlighting the tigers’ behaviours and ZSL conservation techniques, including sniffing out prey and being ‘papped’ by a camera-trap, players have to be careful to evade poachers’ snares and palm oil plantations guarded by electric fences.

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London Zoo newborn Sumatran tiger cub found dead

London Zoo's newborn Sumatran tiger cub has drowned, the zoo has confirmed.

Five-year-old Sumatran tiger Melati gave birth to the cub on 22 September after a six-minute labour. The cub was the first tiger to be born at the zoo for 17 years.

On Saturday, zookeepers could not see the cub on the den cameras and its body was later discovered on the edge of a pool inside the enclosure.

A post-mortem test conducted on Sunday confirmed the cub had drowned.

It is thought that Melati carried the cub outside the den, but keepers are unclear as to how the cub got into the pool as there are no cameras in the wider enclosure.

The cub was born six months after the opening of the "tiger territory", designed to encourage the endangered sub-species of tiger to breed.

Melati's pregnancy lasted 105 days and was kept secret by zookeepers, who maintained a careful watch on the first-time mother through hidden cameras so they would not disturb her.

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Sumatran tiger cubs caught on video in Sumatran forest

First footage of Sumatran tigress and her cubs in Sembilang National Park, Indonesia.

November 2012. Two wild tiger cubs have been caught on camera in the Sumatran forest - the first ever footage captured of young tigers in a previously unexplored National Park.

Conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have spent four years in Berbak National Park, studying tigers using camera traps in known tiger spots. But it isn't until now that they've monitored the neighbourhood region of Sembilang, and discovered evidence of breeding in this protected area.

Just 300 Sumatran tigers left alive in the wild
The footage of these big cats shows the mother casually walking past the camera, closely followed by her youngsters, who are thought to be less than a year old. A rare occurrence considering there are only around 300 of the endangered wild animals left in the world, as they remain under great threat from poaching and human destruction of their habitat.

ZSL's head of regional conservation programmes, Sarah Christie says: "This is the best early Christmas present, and we are absolutely delighted to find the first evidence of breeding in Sembilang. We will continue working with leaders of both national parks as well as the government to ensure the areas are better protected and well patrolled," Sarah added.

Dr. Dolly Priatna, ZSL's Indonesia country manager added: "This is a key area for Sumatran tigers. If they are saved, everything connected to them is also saved, including the Asia's last great forests, whose carbon storage alleviates climate change."

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/sumatra-tiger-video.html

Indonesian tiger smuggler could escape with light sentence

Light sentence is no deterrent
October 2011. The trial of a tiger skin smuggler on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has resulted in an immediate response from WWF and its partners after the prosecutor in the case recommended a very light sentence.

The smuggler was caught in West Sumatra in March 2011 with a tiger skin he purchased for US$3,000. Under current Indonesian law, the suspect could receive a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a IDR$100 million rupiah fine (US$11,200), but the prosecutor has recommend a mere three years imprisonment and an IDR$3 million (US$335) fine.

Retno Setiyaningrum, Legal and Policy Senior Officer for WWF-Indonesia, stated that while WWF applauds the efforts of law enforcement officers in the case, the prosecution's requested penalty is too low.

"Since 2004, punishments in illegal poaching cases have not been a deterrent," said Retno. "Just in 2009, judges in Riau Province gave punishment of only one year imprisonment and a fine of two million rupiahs for two poachers who killed three Sumatran tigers."

WWF supporters and celebrities have joined the call for the judge in the current case to impose stricter punishment on the perpetrator, following an earlier call to hand down a maximum sentence to the tiger smuggler.

"The Sumatran tiger is part of Indonesia's national identity," said Indonesian musician Nugie. "The illegal wildlife trade is a loss for the entire country, and maximum punishment in this case can set an example that the government is serious about law enforcement and tiger poaching," he added.

WWF-Indonesia Tiger Protection Unit Coordinator Osmantri stated that investigations of tiger poaching must touch the entire chain of the problem, from hunters to smugglers to consumers:

High levels of poaching
"The level of Sumatran tiger poaching, especially in Riau and West Sumatra Provinces, is heavily threatening the wild tiger population," said Osmantri. "Illegal poaching and trade involves a complex and extensive network, with law enforcement only partially having any impact. Today, we still consider this current poacher at large."

West Sumatra, where the current case originated, has one of the highest tiger populations on the island. There are less than 400 Sumatran tigers left, out of a total of only 3,200 and five other other subspecies, which are scattered in small pockets across Asia.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/tiger-smuggler.html