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Subscribe to RSSJAMBI, Sumatra, Indonesia – The tiger had ripped apart the body of 19-year-old Imam, and his remains were spread about 40 feet from his ransacked forest shelter. All that was left of his severed head was the bare skull. The tiger had eaten the rest it.
The body of Imam's 51-year-old father, Suyut, lay closer to the shelter and was largely intact.
"It was shocking," said Nurazman, who heads the Forestry Department's local conservation office and was the first to the scene. "We collected the body parts as quickly as possible, because we knew the tiger was still there. We could feel it."
Ian Williams/NBC News
Salma, a tiger blamed for the deaths of at least 3 people, at the Tambling rehab center.
The two victims, illegal loggers, had been asleep when the tiger crashed through the plastic-sheeted roof of their makeshift hut in the dead of night. A third logger managed to escape, raising the alarm, but was in shock for days afterwards.
Nurazman (who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name) led the hunt for the man-eater. A few days later they trapped a young 180 pound tigress, who they named Salma, and she was blamed for the deaths of Imam and Suyut and those of four others in this region of Central Sumatra.
Salma was found to be lactating, but there was no sign of her cub. Nurazman speculated at the time that the theft of her cub was the motive for the vicious attacks.
Among terrified villagers, many of whom believe tigers have almost supernatural powers, word spread that Salma had methodically tracked down and eaten those responsible.
But even after Salma was caught in March of last year, the tiger attacks continued. Nurazman says 15 people, all of them illegal loggers, have died in this one small area of Sumatra since the beginning of 2009. He now believes Salma killed three of them at most and could have been motivated by revenge.
Whatever the reason for Salma’s attacks, Sumatra's Jambi Province has become the focus of a showdown between tigers and people, who are increasingly encroaching on their diminishing habitat.
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‘Tigers were never like this before’
There are perhaps 400 tigers left in the wild in Sumatra, and according to one estimate, they are being poached at the rate of 30 a year.
"Ten years ago, this area was all forest," Nurazman told me, as we bent over the graves of Imam and his father. "Now plantations are everywhere. The forest has gone."
Logging – both legal and illegal – is cutting deeper into the forest. Palm oil plantations are proliferating, and villagers, many of them migrants from the crowded island of Java, are moving here in ever growing numbers.
"We are only trying to make a living," one logger told me in the frontline village of Pataling, which consists of a string of wooden houses along a bumpy mud road. It is also the village from which Imam and his father launched their logging missions.
"The tigers were never like this before," the village chief, Sujiono Basir, told me. "We would meet tigers in the past, but they were never fierce."
Basir is a native of Sumatra and talks about tigers with respect and awe. He blames the outsiders for what's happening in the area. Imam and his father had come from Java.
"If we destroy their life, then they will threaten us," he told me. "If the tiger has food and shelter, they just pass us by."
Ian Wililams/NBC News
The villagers of Pataling live in fear on the edge of the tigers habitat.
Tiger rehab
Most tigers who come into conflict with humans – and not killed by poachers or frightened humans – are sent to zoos, but Salma was sent to rehab. It’s a controversial new program aimed to recondition tigers that have come into conflict with humans for a return to the wild, or at least a protected and sustainable part of it.
That's where I met Salma, and a second man-eater called Ucok, suspected of killing two people in north Sumatra.
It was a chilling experience. They were in two large, adjoining cages. Their deep piercing roar could make you shudder before you get anywhere near them. They have a raw ferocity the likes of which you will never find in a zoo. One look in their eyes tells you these are wild animals.
The rehab center is part of Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation, a 110,000 acre conservation area abutting a national park on the southern tip of Sumatra and run by Tomy Winata, a tycoon turned conservationist.
"The animals are the landlords of this area," he told me.
Ian Wililams/NBC News
The Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation, a 110,000 acre conservation area, hosts a rehab center for wild tigers.
Tigers instinctively stay away from people. The idea of tiger rehab is to restore their natural wariness of humans by largely isolating them from people and weaning them back onto other live prey before releasing them into a more protected region.
Four tigers have already gone through rehab and been released in the area. One was poached, but Tambling thinks the other three have successfully established a range in the area.
Nobody knows for sure what turns a tiger into a man-eater, but most experts agree that in Sumatra it started with loss of habitat.
"When tigers are losing their prey because of habitat loss, they are going outside their habitat to look for food," said Robert Lee, a tiger conservation specialist with UNESCO in Jakarta.
They stray into villages and come to prey increasingly on livestock and other easy targets, even dogs. When this happens, it may not be long before a hungry tiger clashes with humans.
Conservation officers like Nurazman are encouraging villagers to report tiger sightings before there are clashes.
During our visit to Tambling, a third tiger, Mekar, was flown in after being caught in another village. Terrified villagers had videoed her using a shaky cell phone as she prowled around their huts.
This time, forestry officials were brought in and caught her before harm was done to humans – or the tiger.
Ian Wililams/NBC News
Mekar, a tiger caught in the wild and brought to the Tambling rehab center.
‘Tiger Summit’
The plight of tigers like these will be discussed at a "Tiger Summit" beginning Sunday in St. Petersburg, Russia. It will bring together leaders from the 13 countries where tigers still live in the wild. It is being hailed as a last chance to save the tiger, and is expected to end with a pledge to double the wild tiger population over the next ten years.
The corner of Sumatra where the Tambling rehab center is located is already home to around 30 tigers. It is isolated, relatively protected, and wildlife rich. The hope is that for now it can provide a critical refuge for troubled tigers like Ucok, Salma and Mekar.
But the tide is moving relentlessly against the Sumatran tiger. The reality is one of rapidly declining habitat loss, and unless that is reversed, it is difficult to see how tiger numbers can be boosted.
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Leave a Comment:
Sounds fair to me: illegally logging equals death penalty. Humans shouldn't do what they're not supposed to.
Hey, it's simple.. You want to live in their part of the world, plan to be eaten. It's a tiger's world out there.
I love how us as humans encroach on the animals native land, and then expect them to accomodate our lives. Just like the English did to the Native Americans.
So they hunt down an animal for doing what it naturally does, hunts, and kills prey. Had it been a cow in that tent in the woods, it would have done the same thing.
Man sees itself as immune from animal attacks because we walk on two legs, and can use a computer. When it boils right down to it, this is their land, and we just live in it.
Too bad you can't spell or create coherent sentences.
Perhaps you are one of those angered natives who never bothered to learn to read and write because you were trodden upon by the English?
Jamie's spelling and grammar are just fine, and the points made are sound.
Human beings expect to have a higher position on the food chain because of our opposable thumbs and bimodality. I grew up in Florida, and was taught to respect the native wildlife and to always remember that WE lived in their habitat, not the other way around. The more human beings continue to encroach on wild animals' habitat and destroy their prey, they will continue to roam urban areas and adapt to their loss of prey. For these tigers, anything that breathes is prey, and if there aren't any livestock, pets, or other sources, it's only natural for them to come after the humans that are in their area. Why rehab the tiger? Let nature take its course. It's the only way that human beings will ever learn to respect these tigers (or other carnivores in different regions.)
If you own a home or if you live anywhere then you have encroached on some other species land. There never was and never will be an area that is livable for humans that dosent have life there already . The laws of nature apply to humans to. We take so we can survive . As a homeowner I find it hard to blame someone else for wanting to own a home . Also these problems have been going on for decades . I surfed many times in Java during the 70s and 80s and the tiger tales were legend . Tiger hunters will tell you that they are the only species you cant hunt. You put yourself out there and wait for them to hunt you . Remarkable animals but the fact is, like everything else. Its them or us . And like everything else. They will lose .
When I go out hunting animals I generally use a Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotgun loaded up either with 00 buckshot or 1 oz. slugs. Very few, if any beast, can withstand the heat. It's a me or them mentality.
Well no; accomodate is spelled wrong. It should be accommodate (2 Ms). And it should read "man sees Himself,,, not ITself. Man is not an IT.
My question is how much are they going to pay the tiger for stopping illegal logging.
Ha! Beat me to it ArtinCA...
I don't blame the tigers one bit for killing these bastards who destroy there habitat, thankfully Tomy Winata, a tycoon turned conservationist, sounds like a good guy who wants to help save the few tigers left in the wild.
If people want to make a living in that area or be able to sustain life than start rebuilding Java or farming. A complete loss of intrastructure means a complete loss of a revenue generating working class. As long as we are allowed to procreate whenever we feel having a child would be nice, than we are going to have to get use to the fact that all wild life will become part of "our" food chain. We don't get!! Every human translates in to square space and sustainable food products consumed. We are literally eating ourselves out of house and home. Unfortunately the tigers, lions, wolves, and ALL endangered wildlife will cease to exist. I hope this "Tiger Summit" actually get something done.
Most procreation is not even intentional ...
While I agree with your overall message, I couldn't help but notice several phrases you wrote that hint to your lack of understanding of that part of the world. You wrote "...start rebuilding Java..." -- are you implying that Java has been struck by a huge disaster which has left it pretty much uninhabitable, hence the Javanese migrants in Sumatra? I hope you're not assuming that because a volcano has been erupting there that Java is now in ruins. Java is a huge island (Sumatra is even bigger) and there have always been active volcanoes belching ash once in a while throughout its history -- the area affected by the Merapi volcano is just a tiny part of it (a few hundred square miles at most, on a 51,000 square-mile island). The rest of Java is just fine and there has not been "a complete loss of infrastructure." Besides, it is the center of Indonesian economic activity with several large metropolises, and is home to almost 140 million people. I think a disaster that can affect Java in its entirety and result in 140 million refugees would've made much bigger news.
The reason there are Javanese migrants in Sumatra is because Java is very densely populated compared to the other major islands. The government has been actively trying to promote migration to other islands for the last few decades (keep in mind that migrants from other islands have historically been coming to Java as well). My point is, there are migrants in Sumatra for the same reason there are migrants in other parts of the world: people will move to wherever they think they can have a better quality of life (i.e., more money).
My apologies in advance if I misunderstood any part of your posting.
What do you mean "their part of the world"? We humans have been in OUR (and their) part of the world for thousands of years. This craptastic myth about "humans encroaching on 'their' habitat" is just that - a myth. Its really a very simple proposition: the tiger (or any other organism) adapts to the changes in its environment, whether caused by nature or us, or it dies out. And if it or any other species poses a threat to human life, it dies out faster.
I wonder if the victims had been children from California or Kansas if you'd take such a cavalier approach to human life? I guess its easier to imply "the humans had it coming" when they are 'just' non-American types with only one name. And hey they were "illegal" loggers, so they doubly had it coming I guess?
What an enviro morality tale this story was.
The flaw in your logic, Kev, is 'caused by nature or by us'. We ARE nature, but a sick dog dies.... sick human animal? Perhaps hundreds of thousands of $$ spent for what? A few years? Not an agruement about the worth of human animals vs. the worth of other animals so much as the inability for it to continue perpetually.....
Currently, we have superior thinking abilities in many ways, the most dangerous ways and in ways of saving the most premature to the oldest and sickest, all inbetween.... while all other animals are expendable, and lesser.... because they can't pull a trigger, I suppose.
But, our flaws will bite us you know where; when we're living on top of eachother, when overpopulation of us has all but exterminated too many other life forms, the list goes on, and on, and on...
Pertains to my post below; arrogancy gets us no where, and the truth is the truth. Put off the problems, let your grandchildren deal with them if you wish, but it doesn't mean they go away.
It is the demand by western nations for palm oil that is driving this rapid destruction of the forest, as it is cleared for palm tree plantations. Palm oil is used in foods and cosmetics, for frying, and for biodiesel fuel.
Tiger are beautiful, majestic animals. They really want no part of people; they just want to be left alone to live their lives. When people start encroaching on the tiger's habitat and threatening their young, the tigers do what comes naturally and protect themselves from the threat. I am glad to see that they are trying to rehabilitate the tigers and release them back into the wild instead of destroying them. Hopefully Sumatra can do something to stop the destruction of the tiger's forest habitat before it is too late. They are beautiful animals that are definitely worth the effort to try and save. Maybe the attacks will convince these poachers to stay away and leave the tigers in peace, although realistically Iknow that is not likely to happen. I hope that I can one day get a chance to travel and see these tigers in their natural habitat instead of just behind bars in a zoo.
They apparently wanted part of the young man first mentioned in the story............in fact, almost all of him.
He and his father were ILLEGAL LOGGERS. Did you get that part of it? They had no business being in the forest. If you go into the forest where tigers live, you are risking your life! It is too bad they lost their lives, but they took the risk.
Is it really all that shocking that these tigers are now attacking people? If you take away their habitats and food source, they are going to stray. It's not rocket science. Why can't people stop destroying everything.
Hmmm Imam, sounds like a terrorist type to me, so no loss. Feed the tigers!
I really hope that's sarcasm.
I doubt that was sarcasm. Islamophobes will post nonsensical and irrelevant comments anywhere they see anything that in their mind has to do with Islam or Muslims. The funny thing is I really doubt they would think "Muslim" if they saw an Indonesian walking by, since they think all Muslims are Arabs.
Yes, and Christophobes too quite obviously. Where did it say anything in this story or in the posts about Muslims? Excluding yourself of course. The only thing different about these attacks are the increased ability to make it known around the world in a matter of hours with modern technology.
And blue collar, pray tell where did k4k mention Christianity? And Alan was the one who brought up the fact that because one of the victims was an Imam, he was a terrorist.
Thank you, Independentandproud. Sounds like bluecollarblogger is a wee bit defensive (who ever said Islamophobia was a uniquely Christian trait?). Hint to bluecollar: in case what Independent wrote isn't clear enough, "Imam" is an Arabic word which also happens to be a common Muslim name.
See my above post. Answer your own silly questions.
Who says that politicaly correct talking points are not a form of defensiveness in them selves? who brought up Muslims in the first place? What biased and rediculous points of view. Do you folks watch "The View" by any chance?
Again... ALAN did. Imam is an Islamic leadership position. Alan said because a victim had that name (and was thus a muslim, the people who follow Islam) he was most likely a terrorist. That is Islamophobia.
It is simple. If we love the tiger, we should start eating the tiger. Then there would be no shortage of tigers. We have plenty of chickens and cows dont we. MMMM...perhaps tiger nuggets instead of chicken nuggets for the kids.
Tigers are magnificent animals. There are only 400 left in Sumatra. A tiger killed people - illegal loggers destroying their habitat, and possibly out of revenge for a stolen cub. The remaining range of these tigers should be made into a preserve - where humans cannot go without a permit - and where human intruders get 10 years in prison to think about their crime.
I don't remember that part of the story about a stolen cub. The guys may have been very risky and lonely and might have tried to have sex with the tiger, which of course the monkey didn't approve of, so while no one was looking the monkey climbed down the tree startled the tiger and all hell broke loose? If that was the case, the two guys should have stayed home that afternoon and drank beer instead of going out to look for firewood to sell at the local market to support their wife and children.
"She was lactating, but there were no cubs found in the area" lactating is the production of milk in a mammal to feed its young. The belief was that her cubs were stolen from her.
Bravo Just2Reason
Intruders into tiger habitat should get 10 years to think about their crime of self preservation and the audacity to feed themselves and their children.
It's easy to run your mouth on a full belly from the comfort of your sofa.
Kev...yes, people have lived in that area of the world for thousands of years, but never before have they destroyed the habitat of others so quickly and in such large quantities, so, no, the idea that encroaching is a myth is stupid. Also...hate to break it to you...but this idea that animals will just "adapt" in the respect that they will just change their habits to accommodate us is complete bull...they will "adapt" by finding new food sources a.k.a us...but true "adaptation" like they teach in grade school only exists on time scales of thousands of years and to expect the same result on a time scale of a few decades to a couple of hundred years is idiocy.
Ahh, knew there had to be at least one person who had a "kill em all" attitude, and Kev, you are that one. So let's put a different spin on it, and see how you feel.
Let's change the tigers to trees. If I am understanding what you are saying, then if something gets in our way, it needs to die, why not knock all the trees down in the world? Then we'd have no carbon dioxide, and we'd all suffocate eventually. Good idea huh?
I agree to a point that sure, we humans have been living with animals since the dawn of man, and sure, it is a kill or be killed world we live in, but to chase after a wild animal because it happens to kill another animal(human) for it's meal is asinine.
Oh, that 11 foot alligator bit a kid's arm off in Florida because the kid decided to swim in a canal, let's hunt it down and put a bullet in it's head for doing what comes naturally, yea, that makes sense.
It's not a matter that the "victims" here are not Americans, I have compassion for all humankind. I am basically making the point that if we continue to destroy THEIR habitats for our own progression, THEY are going to look elsewhere for food source, and hey, why not that slow human animal over there?
Illegal loggers, 'used to be 100x more forest', human animals believing their rights are supreme over any other animals, lactating w/no sign of the cub(s), possibly the reason for the attack was illegal selling/trade of the cubs taken.....
Pretty much says it all. Other animals lose more and more of what was their natural territory, we breed like rats, and blame the encroachment on all other animals' territory on, well..... the other animals.
There are many that don't want to face it, but it's inevitable; we're overpopulating, and one day, we'll be fighting human animals for territory as well; hell, we already are.
Mother nature has a way of correcting this; try as we human animals may, it's a losing battle. From murderers to rapists, premie crack babies, people with 8 organs that weren't theirs to begin with; we have to accept mortality, consequences, and logic. Many times, it's certainly painful, but doing the math? It doesn't add up......
This makes me want to puke. The tigress was lactating. There is at least one baby involved and either it was stolen (in which case eating the thief is fair to me) or threatened her habitat or babies . Wait, I have an idea! How about we take all the humans who have killed animals or other humans and hunt them down too...no? I mean once they have killed they may lose their fear of killing and do it again, so we better kill them too. I thought not and no one would suggest that, so why do it to animals that do rightfully belong where they live?
Makes me sick to think of the whole situation...sigh.
Oh, great, who is Tiger eating now?
What an ignorant comment, Alan. Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the entire world, with about 86% of the population identifying themselves as Muslim. You read the word "Imam" and immediately identify him as a terrorist. If you're going to post on this thread, at least pretend to be mature. Otherwise, go back to your Beck rally and top attempting to spread your ignorance to the rest of us.
problem with breeding tigers like chickens or pork or turkey meat is that tigers are VERY costly to breed and grow. they consume far more in cost than they do in profit/return on investment. for this reason, it wouldn't work. i guess you could feed the tigers animals those are useless and then markup the tiger meat and sell it as an exotic dish to the rich. i am sure it would sell.
on the other side, you can also sell tiger fur and head attached (preserved) or of course a tiger carpet, especially the white tiger one. there is a market for that and tigers wouldn't go extinct.
humans are hypocrites. they eat chickens but say no to tiger. just like they selectively use parts of religion that they like and act hypocritical to other parts. i love how pathetic they are, just like the joker said in the dark knight. how pathetic their little lives really are.
terrible situation. only way to save the tigers is to help with the poverty of local people
The number one way to save the tiger, the panda, the whales, sharks and other animals is to have either no kids or less kids. Human population must decrease. Being the dominant species on the planet is not going to be fun, exciting or beautiful if we are the only species.
Mother Nature is starting to kick a** and taking names. Rampaging elephants, moose and deer attacks, whales jumping on boats. Go Mother Nature.
I read a book .. that by now is nearly ten years old that said then.. that Game Keepers all over asia routeenly overestimate tiger numbers within park boundarys often by a 100% increase or more just to keep park revinues up in the way of tourist dollars and government money. By doing this they also aviod being reprimanded by government officials. This book was written by an American tiger safari guide in around 2003.. or4? He would set up treks all over asia and his relationships with the locals in several countrys revealed the truth. He had many telling him late in the 90's that the Tiger is finished.
I myself have seen a tiger on safari.. a tagged one.. I wonder in hindsight how many tigers there actualy were in that park.. Seems to me a tagged tiger would be easy to track ..ha.. they made out as if they found it with eyesite, after days of failed sirching.. meanwhile your spending money in and around the national park
In regards to illegal logging.. thats code for cutting trees down within national/state park boundaries.. i understand that people are struggling world wide but the likes of Kev.. hmmm
Dont you get it Kev.. the whole point is that there arent many of these animals left and there going to disapear.. (currently there are more Tigers in zoos and private sanctuarys in the United States then there are in all of the wilds of the world).. also from what i understand.. tiger polulations in zoos are reliant on occasional addition from the wild in order to continue to survive.. i.e.. realy in order for the tiger to survive it needs all of its numbers both inside zoos and in the wild... which wont happen unfortuantly.
Kev there are lots of humans on the planet.. thats realy the point.. its got nothing to do with skin color.. but i suspect your religous.. only religous people talk with your kind of arrogance. I also suspect you dont give a damb about those people realy either. You pretend to care about those people so that you can act rightious. There are not many tigers on the planet however and they will disapear.. get it! Why not do all we can to protect an animal thats on ever other sports team logo. We obviously love tigers.
Nothing is as horrible as the human animal that kills when it can make the choice not to. In fact i find it insulting when people call crazy people animals.
Oh and the tiger is unique a the moment in that its not habitat loss that will finish it off.. 100 dead tigers are being confiscated a year by park officials and customs, border officers etc.. worldwide.. from poachers.. all of which are sold to china to make there tiny pee pees.. less tiny pee pees. Now that chinese have money they truck in all of the worlds endangered species for herbal remedies.. they mix viagra with tiger bone to make it seem legit.. and they pay more for species that have less than 10000 or 1000 or 100 individuals left in the wild.. the more endangered the more they wont to eat it
They even gut and kill american bears in national parks.. taking just the gall bladders.. and sell them in san fransisco shops..(which is illegal).. anyway the chinese are killing the tiger... not habitat loss.. when the tiger goes.. they will shift focus to another animal.. not that they dont just eat everything already.
Supply and demand, baby! Lower supply, higher demand-> more $$$. Let the free market forces decide, it's been that way since the beginning of time. Why place pesky regulations and restrictions in the way of freedom?? *sarcasm off
On a more serious note, I really hope you are vegan and if not, at the very least, you eat every part of an animal's body and not let anything go to waste, yucky organs and all. That's the one thing everybody needs to learn from the Chinese.
You take their land, kill all their natural prey, build houses and roads and you're shocked they hunt your pets and people. We're @!$%#s who are destroying the planet one acre at a time. It's that simple.
We did the same thing here in the US, only it was a couple centuries age. Bears, wolves, mountain lions, bison were killed whenever possible to protect the lives of settlers and their livestock. (not to mention the original human inhabitants, who resisted the settler invasion and paid with near extermination also). It's a bit hypocritical for us now to get all shocked and righteous when other people facing the same economic forces do what our ancestors did back then.
Good grief! Before we eviscerate the remaining populations of cats - for their skins, their whiskers, their gonads, or simply for sheer sport - at least allow them a little fun!