A group of Sumatran tigers appears to be flourishing at a national park in Indonesia, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature.
A Sumatran tiger sits in its exhibit at a zoo in Jakarta in this file photo from 2008. The WWF says a group of 80 Sumatran tigers is flourishing in the wild in Sumatra. (Photo: EPA)
The Sumatran tiger is a critically endangered species which, although protected by law, is hunted for its skin and organs. it’s habitat is also under threat from deforestation to make way for oil palm and logging concessions.
The WWF claims a group of around 80 Sumatran tigers is living wild in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in southern Sumatra, despite the threat to them posed by human activity in the area.
“Dozens of tigers live well in the forests of South Sumatra and Lampung,” Job Charles, a project leader at WWF Indonesia, told Antaranews.com on Sunday.
Mr Charles believes the Sumatran tiger population is recovering in the area thanks to cooperation between conservationists and local communities in helping to preserve their habitat.
“The WWF along with other institutions and local communities are continuously preserving the habitat in order to promote the tigers’ breeding and increase the population,” he said.
Mr Charles added that WWF volunteers carried out regular patrols in the national park.
The WWF estimates that only 200 Sumatran tigers live in the wild on the island of Sumatra. However, the results of a survey of a group of conservation groups published last year on more than 250sq km of forest, covering 38 nature reserves, puts the number at a more optimistic 600.
Mr Charles is hopeful that the Sumatran tiger can survive in its natural habitat, with the help of local communities.
“The species will not [go] extinct if communities actively help in preserving their habitats and let the tigers breed optimally,” Mr Charles said.