AFP 27 Feb 09;
JAKARTA (AFP) — Indonesian villagers have trapped and killed a fourth endangered Sumatran tiger amid a spate of tiger attacks blamed on illegal logging, according to environmental group WWF.
Four tigers and six people have been killed on Sumatra island this month, it said.
"We learnt on February 24 that another Sumatran tiger had been trapped and killed by villagers after it attacked two farmers on Sunday," WWF spokeswoman Syamsidar told AFP.
"This is the fourth tiger killed this month and we are concerned because it is a protected animal and an endangered species."
The farmers from Simpang Gaung village in Riau province were seriously injured in the attack, Syamsidar said.
"The tiger in the latest killing had wandered into the village as its habitat had been destroyed by people," she added.
Indonesian Forestry Minister Malam Sambat Kaban urged the provincial police to arrest the tiger killers, Detikcom news website reported.
"I urge the police to carry out a complete investigation... the killers must be arrested quickly," he was quoted as saying.
"They can't kill these tigers as they please. Whatever their excuse, the tigers must be protected."
There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild and their increasing contact with people is a result of habitat loss due to deforestation, according to the wildlife group.
It said about 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of forest on Sumatra had been cleared in the past 22 years, a loss of nearly 50 percent islandwide.
The incidents in Riau occurred in an area dotted with pulp and oil palm plantations and recently subjected to burning to clear forests.
