March 16, 2024, 09:26 AM
Indonesia park rangers and authorities began a hunt on Mar. 14 for Sumatran tigers believed to have attacked villagers and farmers in the Lampung province within Sumatra.
The attacks occurred between late February and Mar. 11, reported The Jakarta Post.
According to Indonesia news outlet Antara News, two people aged 28 and 47 were killed in February 2024 by the tigers.
Four farmers were also attacked within the restricted area of Lampung national park.
According to The Jakarta Post , the latest tiger attack on Mar. 11, injuring one farmer, caused hundreds of Lampung locals to protest at the forest rangers' headquarters, urging them to capture the tigers.
Rangers, police & animal whisperer involved in hunt
Sumatran tigers are an endangered species facing potential extinction, as they are often hunted for their skins or body parts and also face habitat loss due to deforestation, according to wildlife conservation organisation Wildlife Conservation Society.
Sugeng Hari Kinaryo Adi, a ranger at the Bukit Barisan National Park, said that multiple tigers are suspected of attacking the victims.
In an Instagram post shared by Lampung news outlet Tribun Lampung on Mar. 15, Lampung police commissioner Umi Fadilah Astutik said that local police are working together with other authorities to find the tigers.
She added that a search team of 25 people, including 20 police officers, four members of an Indonesian safari team and an "animal whisperer" who supposedly knows the minds and habits of the tigers have been activated for the mission.
The different teams brought a trap cage each to be placed at points where the tigers are likely to be present.
"However, the exact point where the tigers are currently located have not been found until now," she said.
Previous tiger attacks in Sumatra
Sumatran tiger attacks have been widespread prior to the 2024 incidents.
On Feb. 4, 2023, a Sumatran tiger was successfully captured after it was believed to have attacked and injured farmers in the Sumatran province of Aceh, reported Kompas.
The tiger was eventually captured after it walked into a trap set by conservation officials inside a forest reserve on the same morning.
Just a few days later, two farmers who were trespassing in the same protected forest were attacked and suffered serious injuries.
It was not clear whether the same tiger was involved in the later attack.
Top photo via Canva
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