Poultry mauled by tigers in South Aceh

The Jakarta Post 16 Mar 10;

Two tigers are believed to have mauled chickens and ducks in Ujung Tanah village, Samadua, South Aceh, a local official said Tuesday.

“The tigers have frightened local residents over the last few days as their chickens were mauled and their footprints were detected around residential areas,” said S. Junaidi, Samadua district head, in south Aceh’s capital Tapaktuan.

Junaidi said he had immediately notified the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) about the tigers.

“A quick response is needed before the animals cause any further damage,” he told Antara state news agency.

Junaidi hoped the related agencies would soon send experts to transport the animals back to their natural habitat.

Abdullah, 52, one of the local residents, said he spotted the tigers' footprints 20 meters away from his house in Sawang Bunga village.

“The footprints at the back of my house allegedly belonged to two tigers. One footprint belonged to an adult tiger and the other to a younger tiger, possibly its cub,” Abdullah added.