October 30, 2024
JAKARTA – A vast swath of rainforest in Aceh has sufficient resources for Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) to thrive in the wild, a recent study suggests, but researchers are urging more efforts to protect the big cats from the increasing threat of poaching.
More than 70 percent of Sumatra tigers that remain in the wild are believed to live in areas outside national parks and other protected forests across the country’s westernmost province, such as the Ulu Masen Ecosystem.
Ulu Masen measures 9,500 square kilometers, slightly bigger than the area of Banten, and spans five regencies in Aceh. Although Ulu Masen has not been granted the special protection of a national park like the neighboring Leuser Ecosystem, its forests are in generally good condition with relatively few disruption by illegal logging and other extractive activities.
Thanks to the relatively good condition of the forest cover, the big cats have been observed in Ulu Masen by both local residents and researchers like Joe Figel.
Figel placed camera traps in 52 locations between 2020 and 2022 to spot tigers and other wildlife in a forested area nearly the size of 65,000 soccer fields. He and his team of researchers found what they called “a positive outcome”: At least 11 individual tigers were spotted during their study.
“One of the strong takeaways for me from our findings is we did find a fairly intact prey population. That was really good news, particularly of the deers,” said Figel, a science adviser with Leuser International Foundation and codirector of conservation group HutanHarimau.
He was referring to sambar (Rusa unicolor), a large deer native to Southeast Asia that can provide 100 kilograms of meat, sufficient to feed a tigress and her cubs for a week.
The results of Figel’s study, published on Oct. 24 in Scientific Reports, showed that sambar were detected by nearly half of the cameras his team had installed in Ulu Masen, along with other prey species such as wild boar and muntjac, or barking deer.
“That was very encouraging. Those are conditions that are conducive to recovering tigers in that area of Ulu Masen,” Figel told The Jakarta Post.
Heavy poaching
But the study was not all good news. Of the 11 tigers spotted, only one was female. This was “worrysome”, according to Figel, as tigers are known to be polygamous, meaning that a male can mate with multiple females in his territory during mating season.
The two-year study also found that the tigers spotted in 2020 were not detected by Figel’s camera traps in 2022, indicating a possible population turnover with new tigers occupying the observed area.
These findings, as well as a three-legged tiger that appeared in a photograph and snares discovered near the camera traps, comprised what Figel called the bad news: “Poaching is occurring, pretty heavy.”
Read also: Another Sumatran tiger dies at Medan Zoo
Poaching is among the main hazards faced by Sumatran tigers, which are categorized as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Tigers are often killed for their body parts, including whiskers, paws and teeth, for use in traditional Chinese medicine or as trophies.
To protect the remaining tigers in the Ulu Masen Ecosystem, Figel suggested that local authorities in charge of unprotected forest areas recruit up to 640 forest rangers to patrol the area. The number was based on studies in Thailand, where a large number of rangers were deployed on patrols to facilitate tiger recovery.
The Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) currently has only five rangers assigned to Ulu Masen.
Figel asserted that nearly 700 rangers were necessary to secure Aceh’s main wildlife ecosystem, and that bold action were needed to resolve the dual environmental and climate crises.
“If we don’t set these high targets, we’re not going to make a difference,” he said. “We need to think outside the box and think bigger.”
But other researchers expressed doubt that authorities would be able to fulfill the required number of rangers to prevent tiger poaching, judging from the local availability of funds and manpower.
“That is the ideal number but let’s look at our priorities, because we don’t have that many people. Ulu Masen is just too big, we can’t be too idealistic,” said Irene Pinondang, a doctoral candidate in biodiversity management at the University of Kent, who was not involved in the study.
Work together
One way to solve the issue is to push for a collaborative patrolling effort involving several parties, including residents living near the forest, according to Febri Anggriawan Widodo, a conservation scientist at WWF Indonesia who was also not involved in the study.
Erlinda Kartika, Figel’s fellow codirector at HutanHarimau, suggested the government could fund partnership programs for local villagers to patrol the area as an alternative source of livelihood.
“Rather than asking them to sell forest products without looking at whether there’s a demand for such items, it may be better to pool the money and use it to pay people to patrol the forest,” said Erlinda.
Read also: Firmer action urged to prevent human-wildlife conflict in Sumatra
Aside from poaching, Figel, Erlinda and Irene warned about other potential hazards for Sumatran tigers, such as the planned gold mine near or in Ulu Masen and diseases that affect tigers or their prey.
BKSDA Aceh head Ujang Wisnu Barata hailed the study for providing information on the condition of Sumatran tigers in the Ulu Masen Ecosystem, and expressed hope that follow-up studies would also look into how to prevent human-tiger conflicts.
“It maybe fine from the perspective of nature for this ecosystem to be a habitat for tigers, but we need to make sure this won’t create new conflicts,” said Ujang, adding that the agency would intensify its patrols around the forests of Ulu Masen.