MEDAN: The Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) has installed two tiger traps and six cameras after a male Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is suspected to have killed a second victim in Pelalawan regency.
The traps and cameras were installed to monitor the movement of tigers in the incident area.
Falling victim this time was a worker at the same industrial forestry plantation (HTI) area in Sungai Ara village, Pelalawan district, with the July 7 attack killing the 12-year-old girl Jerlin Zalkhu.
HTI worker Eko Prasetio was found dead on July 10. Riau BBKSDA acting head Laskar Jaya Permana said the attack on Eko was only three days apart from the attack killing Jerlin.
“The second attack had been in a camp for workers some 6.5km from the camp where Jerlin’s family lives,” he said on Tuesday (July 14).
“BBKSDA Riau has deployed the Wildlife Rescue Unit [WRU] to handle and monitor the tiger’s presence since the first attack.”
However, he said, residents and workers did not pay attention to a directive preventing them from doing any activities alone in the evening.
Laskar said Eko, a resident of Riau's Kampar Kiri district told his friend, Rofi Hudzil Affa, on July 10 at about 7.15pm to find cellphone connection to deliver Saturday’s work agenda through WhatsApp group.
“It is difficult to communicate through cellphone, so the victim tried to find a place with good connection,” he said.
But by midnight Eko had not returned to the workers’ camp so his friends and company security set out on a search party. While looking at the location usually used by workers to make phone calls, the team found Eko’s sandals and cellphone.
The team also found trails of blood, traces of a body having been dragged into the bushes and a Sumatran tiger’s footprints.
Concerned that Eko had become victim of an attack, the company security reported the incident to BBKSDA’s WRU team and requested assistance at about 2.30am. A joint team moved swiftly toward the location and arrived at 2.52am to conduct observations, identify footprints and comb the area.
“The team found Sumatran tiger’s footprints measuring some 16cm by 15 cm walking away from the location where the victim’s belongings were found,” Laskar said.
“The search was widened to a radius of 3km by using thermal drone and halogen spotlight. But because it was night and limited visibility, the search was suspended at 4am.”
The BBKSDA team and company’s management and workers held a joint roll call before continuing the search following the trails. The search party found the victim’s body at about 7am around the HTI’s greenbelt forest area.
“The victim was found dead in bushes some 650m from where he made phone call,” Laskar said.
“There were several bite and claw wounds in his body, and some body parts missing.” The body was then evacuated to the company’s clinic before being handed over to his family for burial in Kampar Kiri district.
Laskar could not confirm whether the tiger attacking Eko was the same individual as the one attacking Jerlin because there was more than one tiger in the area. However, looking at footprints found in both attack locations, it is strongly suspected that it was the same tiger by looking at the footprint sizes.
Based on Riau BBKSDA’s analysis, the tiger is estimated to be a three-year-old male.
“The team is still conducting a deeper analysis to confirm whether the animal in the last attack is the same individual or a different one from the previous incident,” Lesmana said
“Results will be used to determine the solutions to seek an end to the attacks.”
In addition to installing traps, the owner of the HTI concession is also required to apply strict standard operation procedure (SOP) to protect the workers as instructed by the Forestry Ministry’s Natural Resources Conservation and Ecosystem Directorate General since the first attack.
“Workers have been evacuated from the camp in the attack location, but there still are workers in other camps,” Lesmana said.
“Therefore, we emphasize all companies working around Sumatran tiger’s habitat to apply stringent SOPs and strengthen security at workers’ camp.”
Lesmana said residents and workers must also increase their alertness and avoid activities alone, especially in the evening and immediately report to Riau BBKSDA officials if there is an animal sighting. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
