Indonesia: Sumatran Tigers Kill One, Trap Five Others in Aceh National Park

Nurdin Hasan Jakarta Globe 7 Jul 13;

Banda Aceh. Search and rescue crews began the long trek into the depths of the Gunung Leuser National Park on Saturday to rescue five men who spent the last three days trapped in a tree after Sumatran tigers killed and ate a sixth member of their party, police said.

A 30-member team entered the 7,927 square-kilometer national park on Saturday after villagers’ attempts to rescue the men were thwarted by the site of four Sumatran tigers near the base of the tree, Aceh Tamiang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dicky Sondani said on Sunday.

“It might need two or three days to walk on foot to the depths of Leuser jungle,” Dicky said. “If the tigers are still under the tree, we will have to shoot and anesthetize them so that we can rescue the five [men].”

The men, all residents of Simpang Kiri village in Aceh Tamiang district, entered the dense national forest in search of the agarwood — known locally as gaharu — a rare and extremely expensive type of heartwood used in the production of aromatic oils and incense. Resin-infused agarwood is the result of a mold that infects the alim tree (aquilaria malaccensis), an endangered tropical evergreen found in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

A kilogram of agarwood can fetch some Rp 5 million ($505), Dicky said, but the jungles of the Gunung Leuser National Park house dangerous tigers and elephants. The police recently had to rescue another group of men trapped in the park, he said.

“It’s worse this time because there are tigers waiting for the villagers,” Dicky said. “People keep entering the jungle to look for alim wood because it’s very expensive; up to Rp 5 million ($505) per kilogram. But, well, that’s the risk; there are many tigers and elephants in Gunung Leuser’s jungle.”

The men were attacked by tigers on Thursday after they caught and killed a tiger cub in a snare meant to catch a deer, police said. Nearby tigers drawn to the scene of the injured cub and pounced on the men, killing and eating 28-year-old David as the five others climbed a tree to safety.

The residents of Simpang Kiri village entered the national park after the men called for help on their cell phones. But as the villagers neared the tree, the site of four large tigers and David’s partially eaten remains kept the rescue party at bay.

They have remained in the tree for three days.

Tiger attacks have become increasingly common in Sumatra, where palm oil and pulp plantations have destroyed much of the rainforest, shrinking animal habitats and putting the endangered tigers in contact with local residents. More than a hundred Sumatran tigers are believed to roam the grounds of the Gunung Leuser National Park, according to reports.

Aceh Loggers Saved After Five-Day Standoff With Pack of Tigers
Nurdin Hasan Jakarta Globe 9 Jul 13;

Banda Aceh. Five men were rescued from a tree in the depths of Sumatra’s Gunung Leuser National Park on Monday, ending a five-day standoff with seven Sumatran tigers who had been circling the tree’s base, prepared to pounce.

Deliverance came when courageous tiger tamers shooed the carnivorous cats away.

The men, loggers from the village of Simpang Kiri in the Aceh Tamiang district, had occupied the tree since last Thursday.

A sixth member of the logging party identified as David, 28, failed to climb a tree. The tigers mauled and ate him.

The confrontation began when a snare set by the loggers to catch deer instead trapped a tiger cub, killing it.

The five remaining loggers took refuge in a tree and contacted relatives via cell phone; however, a rescue party sent from their village was deterred by the sight of four tigers waiting at the tree’s base. After requesting help from police, a 30-member team of police officers and Army soldiers was dispatched on Saturday.

“I just got a report several minutes ago from the team on location that [the five men] have been rescued after tiger tamers lured the tigers away, deeper into the jungle,” Aceh Tamiang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Dicky Sondani told the Jakarta Globe on Monday afternoon, adding that the team and the five villagers were expected to arrive in Simpang Kiri on late Monday evening.

“The rescue team will also evacuate what’s left of the victim eaten by tigers, and hand the remains over to his family.”

Dicky said the rescue team had planned to use guns to anesthetize the tigers if they could not get the animals to leave, but decided against it, as they were afraid the protected animals would be injured or even killed.

There was also a worry that other tigers in the area could begin attacking villages in retaliation.

The team attempted to shoot firecrackers to scare the tigers away, but it drew the animals toward them instead, searching for the source of the sound.

After consulting with villagers, the team decided to hire the help of tiger tamers. By this time, the pack of tigers waiting at the tree’s base had grown from four to seven.

The tamers arrived on location on Monday and managed to induce the tigers away with “special chants,” Dicky said.

The police chief declined to offer any details of the chants used.

The men were in very weak condition, Dicky said, because they did not have anything to eat or drink for the past five days.

According to the tiger tamers, the tree in which the loggers sought refuge was located near a cave inhabited by a tiger pack.

“The area is in fact called Tiger Hill because it is inhabited by many of the protected animals,” Dicky said.

He blamed the six villagers for entering the protected area to search for a rare and extremely expensive type of heartwood referred to by locals as “alim wood.”

“Those alim wood hunters appeared to have entered a tiger’s den. It’s their own fault: entering a protected forest because they have been tempted with expensive alim wood.”

Dicky said police would not charge the five loggers.

He said the incident would hopefully serve as a lesson for other villagers planning to enter the forest.

“We’re calling on villagers not to enter the protected forests of the Gunung Lesuer National Park because it is very dangerous.”