That morning, the footpath toward the rice fields in Jorong Palupuh\nlooked ordinary: quiet, damp with dew, framed by the green hills typical\nof Agam Regency. But who would have thought, just a few tens of metres\nfrom residents\u2019 cattle shed, a Sumatran tiger stood still, gazing at\nhumans without a roar or leap, as if trying to convey something.<\/p>\n
On Saturday (28 Feb) around 09:30 local time, Dedi Saputra (35), a\nresident of Tabuah-Tabuah, Nagari Pasia Laweh, Palupuh District, set off\nfor his fields about a kilometre from his home. He parked his motorcycle\nat the roadside, then walked along the embankment. In the middle of his\napproach, the long-haired man suddenly stopped. A Sumatran tiger stood\nnot far from him.<\/p>\n
The protected animal under law did not attack immediately. It instead\ntried to approach. Dedi, suppressing his nerves, promptly notified\nSyafril alias Cap (64), who was at the cattle shed not far from the\nlocation. The two tried to drive the tiger away. Yet the animal did not\nbudge. It lingered for about 20 minutes, at a distance of only about 15\nmetres from the shed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTigers are confused. We drive it away, but it does not leave,\u201d Cap\nrecalls. Eventually, the animal slipped into a thicket corridor and\ndisappeared toward the forest.<\/p>\n
For Palupuh residents, a tiger appearing in farmland is not common.\nThe Sumatran tiger is known to avoid humans. It rarely shows its\nstripes, let alone approaches settlements. But this is not the first\ntime. Two days earlier, a tiger also appeared in Ladang Ateh, while\nresidents were clearing a banana plantation. Footage of the appearance\nhad gone viral on social media.<\/p>\n
The report was then forwarded to the Nagari Patrol Team for Children\n(Pagari) Pasia Laweh. That afternoon, the team together with residents\nmoved to address negative interactions between humans and wildlife. They\nlooked for footprints, droppings, and installed trail cameras at the\nappearance point.<\/p>\n
Two cameras were installed by Tabuah-Tabuah residents, one in the\npaddy field where the tiger appeared, and another on a hillside ridge\nabout 200 metres from the first location. During the installation\nprocess, the unexpected happened again.<\/p>\n
The tiger appeared again.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Pagari Pasia Laweh Team, Bambang Purnama, said their\ndistance from the animal was only about five metres. \u201cIt approached us,\nwalking slowly, then dodged,\u201d he said. Nine people stood frozen. No one\ndared to move quickly. Within minutes, the tiger disappeared back into\nthe forest.<\/p>\n
For Bambang, it was the first time he had seen a Sumatran tiger in\nthe wild. Until now he had only seen the king of beasts in a zoo or on\ntelevision. \u201cThis is an extraordinary experience, meeting it directly in\nthe wild,\u201d he said, still speaking with a mix of awe and fear.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sumatran-tiger-appears-again-palupuh-residents-heighten-vigilance-1772679543", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }