MEDAN (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): A Sumatran tiger died on Sunday (March 19) after being cared for at the Barumun Tiger Sanctuary in North Padang Lawas regency, North Sumatra, for several wounds and malnutrition.
The 14-year-old female Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), named by her carers as Dewi Siundul was treated for two and half months at the sanctuary after being evacuated from Sosopan district in Padang Lawas.
Rudianto Saragih Napitu, head of conservation at the North Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said the tiger was a victim of conflicts with humans.
The tiger arrived at the sanctuary in December 2022, wounded and emaciated. The 234-cm-long, 74-cm-tall animal suffered wounds on its abdomen and legs.
“This is the first Sumatran tiger to die in the sanctuary. There are now five tigers at the sanctuary,” Rudianto told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
On Saturday, another female Sumatran tiger was found dead after being ensnared in a wire trap in Meukek, South Aceh. Another was found dead by wire trap in Peunaron, East Aceh, in February.
Erni Suyanti Musabine, a veterinarian who chairs the Sumatran Tiger Forum, said that it was difficult for tigers to survive wire trap wounds.
“If not dealt with immediately, the wound gets infected and [this] spreads, causing a secondary infection,” she said.
The Sumatran tiger is a subspecies of tiger native to the island of Sumatra. The species has been classified as critically endangered since 2008 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
