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Only a few days after two Sumatran tigers were released back into the wild in the southern tip of Sumatra, two provinces in the same area are now on the hunt for five big cats that have been pestering residents in several villages.

The provincial Natural Resources Conservation Centers (BKSDA) of Bengkulu and Lampung have joined forces to capture the tigers that have been preying on livestock and pets in villages in Kaur district, Bengkulu.

“The Lampung BKSDA has deployed a team of five people to help us to capture the tigers,” said Sirajudin, spokesman from the Kaur district government.

The tigers were initially spotted around Tanjung Aur and Air Bacang villages, but they have since been seen in three other villages — Pardasuka, Arga Mulya, and Linau.

Sirajudin said the team would utilize traps or tranquilizers to capture the tigers and would then place them in quarantine in a special location before they were released into the jungles of Lampung.

“I have instructed the villagers to stay alert because the presence of the tigers can go undetected and we think that they are wandering around in the villages,” said Suarni Muhidin, deputy head of the Kaur district, adding that the villagers were being told to build bonfires at night to keep the tigers at bay.

Only about 400 Sumatran tigers are believed to be left in Indonesia. Deforestation has destroyed much of their habitat and they are hunted for traditional medicines and illegal menageries.

Based on Ministry of Forestry data, an average of 33 tigers are killed each year — often to be stuffed or for their fur — though more killings go unrecorded.

On Friday, Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan ordered two Sumatran tigers to be released into the jungle on the southern tip of Sumatra Island after a lengthy rehabilitation process at a tiger rescue-center at the Tambling Wildlife Nature Conservation.

Panti, a 6-year-old female tiger, and Buyung, an 8-year-old male, are now roaming free in the 385,000-hectare Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, joining an estimated 45 Sumatran tigers living there.


JG, Antara