Indonesia: North Sumatra catches tiger that killed farmer

Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 18 Jul 19;

After two months of hunting, the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA North Sumatra) has succeeded in catching a Sumatran tiger that killed a farmer.

The agency found the tiger alive on Tuesday in Huta Bargot subdistrict, Sosopan district, Padang Lawas regency, after it entered a trap the agency’s team had prepared.

The tiger was suffering from wounds on its right leg when caught, believed to have been caused by snares placed by residents.

BKSDA Padang Sidempuan head Gunawan Alza said the trap prepared by the BKSDA team did not use snares. It was an iron cage with a goat inside as bait.

“It’s relatively effective for catching tigers,” said Gunawan.

He added that the animal had been taken to the Dharmasraya Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center in West Sumatra, located some 514 kilometers from Sosopan.

A farmer was reportedly fatally attacked by the tiger at a rubber plantation in Siraisan, Ulu Barumun district, Padang Lawas, on May 17.

A week later, the animal attacked another villager, who was severely injured. The same tiger is also believed to have preyed on a pet monkey on July 10.

Sumatran tiger trapped and moved to West Sumatra
Antara 18 Jul 19;

Medan, North Sumatra (ANTARA) - A Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris Sumatrae) that had eaten a man and a goat in North Sumatra last June has been trapped and moved to West Sumatra's Dhamasraya Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center, according to a local conservation official. "Because the Barumun Sumatran Tiger Sanctuary in Padang Lawas, North Sumatra, can no longer accommodate additional tigers, as an adult male tiger named Monang, adult tigress called Gadis and two 10-month-old cubs are living there," Irzal Azhar, head of the North Sumatra Nature Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said here on Thursday.

The tiger was trapped on July 16, 2019, in Hutabargot Village, Sosopan Sub-district, Padang Lawas District, North Sumatra.

The trap was set up by the North Sumatra BKSDA in cooperation with the Padang Lawas district authorities in May 2019, following several incidents.

On March 13, 2019, the tiger walked around Pagarambira Julu Village, Padang Lawas, and ate a goat owned by a local villager. On May 16, the tiger attacked a local resident, Abu Sali Hasibuan, in Siraisan village, until the villager died.

On May 26, Faisal Hendri Hasibuan, a resident of Pagaran Bira Jae village, was attacked by the same tiger, and was seriously injured.

On July 10, 2019, the wild animal entered a kampung and ate a monkey and a chicken belonging to a local inhabitant.

The Sumatran tiger's right leg was allegedly injured due to the trap.

Reporter: Munawar M, Fardah
Editor: Rahmad Nasution

Tiger that killed farmer in North Sumatra to undergo surgery
Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 18 Jul 19;

A tiger that killed a man in North Sumatra months before being captured on Tuesday is to undergo surgery on a leg hurt in a snare.

North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA North Sumatra) head Irzal Azhar said the steel snare needed to be removed from the leg as soon as possible to prevent infection.

“We’re preparing to conduct surgery to remove the snare from the tiger’s front right leg. The surgery is necessary so the wound can heal,” he said during a press conference on Thursday.

The agency found the tiger alive on Tuesday in Huta Bargot subdistrict, Sosopan district, Padang Lawas regency, after it entered a trap the agency’s team had set.

A farmer was reportedly fatally attacked by the tiger at a rubber plantation in Siraisan, Ulu Barumun district, Padang Lawas, on May 17. A week later, the animal attacked another villager, who was severely injured. The same tiger is also believed to have preyed on a pet monkey on July 10.

Irzal went on to say the snare was the kind hunters typically used to catch boars. The tiger had stepped into the snare before it was finally caught by the BKSDA North Sumatra team, he said.

“The tiger was already wounded when our personnel found it,” he added.

He called on local residents to refrain from setting hazardous traps for tigers, since the animals were an endangered species.

“The tigers are endangered. There are only six of them in Padang Lawas,” Irzal said. (rfa)