05 Jul 2007 - Jakarta,
Indonesia – A WWF camera trap set up in
an Indonesian national park has photographed
an endangered Sumatran tiger that appears
to have escaped from a snare.
Photos captured by WWF's camera trap inside
Tesso Nilo National Park in central Sumatra
show a male tiger missing the lower half
of his right front leg.
WWF staff suspect this tiger is the same
individual reported caught in a snare in
November 2006, which they believe scratched
or cut his paw off, to escape.
The tiger appears to be in good physical
condition.
Endangered with extinction
The Sumatran tiger is the most critically
endangered tiger subspecies in the world,
with fewer than 400 individuals left in
the wild. They are only found on the Indonesian
island of Sumatra, where they have been
relentlessly hunted for the black market
and where their habitat is rapidly being
lost to agricultural and logging operations.
Snares are an added threat. Some are set
specifically by poachers to catch tigers,
while most are designed to catch other species
as bushmeat for local villagers or as a
means of pest control.
“It’s particularly upsetting that this
happened inside a national park, where tigers
are supposed to enjoy protection,"
said WWF tiger biologist Sunarto.
"This tiger looks like he’s in good
condition in our photos, but his future
is uncertain. The Sumatran tiger population
is at such low levels, we can’t afford to
lose even one individual to a snare.”
Anti-poaching measures
WWF is working with wildlife authorities
in Sumatra to increase awareness of tiger
conservation, including urging people to
stop using snares and educating them on
potential risks of such practices.
Since 2005, WWF and local anti-poaching
teams have confiscated at least 101 snares,
75 of them inside the protected areas of
Tesso Nilo National Park and Rimbang Baling
Wildlife Reserve. Of the 101 snares, 23
were identified as specifically targeting
tigers; the rest for wild boar, sambar deer
and sunbears.
WWF camera traps shows that Tesso Nilo
is a relatively good habitat for the Sumatran
tiger, with a lot of natural prey available
in the area. So far, research has identified
at least five distinct individuals in the
park, and two in a proposed park extension.
A bigger population, with better-connected
forest habitats, is indicated to be in the
proposed extension of the park.
Jan Vertefeuille, Communications Manager
WWF International Tiger Programme
