Jakarta Globe 11 May 13;
The critically endangered Sumatran tiger could soon be extinct in the province of Jambi because of the rapid loss of its forest habitat, conservationists warn.
Rakhmad Hidayat, director of the Jambi chapter of the environmental group Warsi, said the remaining wild population of the big cat was estimated at between 250 and 300.
“Of that number, around 125 are found inside Kerinci Seblat National Park, which covers parts of Jambi, South Sumatra and Bengkulu provinces,” he said as quoted by Antaranews.com.
The remaining tigers are scattered in other national parks throughout Sumatra, but the population in Jambi is estimated at only about 30 or 40 individuals.
Rakhmad said that even inside the national parks, their safety was not guaranteed. He said there has been an increase in the number of incidents in recent years in which villagers living in unprotected forest areas came into conflict with wildlife, including tigers. Many of those cases could be attributed to tigers being driven out of Jambi’s Berbak National Park because of illegal forest clearing activities there.
He said the cases of human-tiger conflict, including two attacks on villagers this year, one of them fatal, and the deaths of two tigers caught in electric fences, should compel provincial authorities and the central government to do more to protect the animals’ habitat.
“The current arbitrary management of the region’s natural resources has not only sparked conflict among communities, but also poses a serious threat to the local wildlife,” Rakhmad said.
“If the situation continues as it is with no concrete measures to address the problems, then we predict that in 10 years’ time, the Sumatran tiger population in Jambi will be extinct.”
A zoologist warned earlier this year that increased human-tiger interaction was having an effect on the animals’ behavior.
Wisnu Whardana of the Bogor Institute of Agriculture said in March that tigers normally avoid human settlements and plantations, but recent cases in Jambi showed tigers were becoming more accustomed to human habitats.
