Indonesian authorities are urgently searching after the Sumatran tiger consecutively caused two attacks on people in a reserve in Aceh province.
A Sumatran tiger on January 28 attacked four locals at a forest reserve in Aceh province, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island, leaving one person in a critical condition.
While soldiers, conservation officers and rangers were deployed to search for the tiger, another attack occurred in the town of Kluet Tengah, in the same reserve in Aceh province, around 2 a.m. on February 1. . The local conservation agency said the Sumatran tiger left two farmers with serious head, arm and leg injuries, one of which had a deep cut on the back of his neck.
Sumatran tiger at a zoo in England. Photo: Reuters.
Officials could not confirm whether the two attacks were caused by the same tiger.
“We will find and move the tiger elsewhere,” said Agus Rianto, head of the Aceh conservation agency, after the second attack, adding that the attacked farmers had entered illegally. into the protected area.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the Sumatran tiger critically endangered, with just under 400 individuals still in the wild, after long periods of poaching. They are also affected by rampant deforestation that reduces their natural habitat, increasing the risk of human encounters.
Huyen Le (Theo AFP)