Has the Javan tiger become another dodo?

Has the Javan tiger become another dodo?

By Widyarto

SURABAYA (JP): Some regard the Javan tiger as an extinct
species, while others contradict this assumption. Ironically,
while the argument over the existence of the Javan tiger has yet
to be resolved, its last habitat, in Meru Betiri National Park,
East Java, is being threatened.

The 56,000-hectare national park is now subject to a
1,000,025-hectare area planned for a gold mining project. The
park management strongly objects to the project, believing that
within this reservation -- as the last holdout of its natural
habitat -- there still lives, on the edge of extinction, several
Javan Tigers.

In 1994, the WWF-Indonesia Program reported the extinction of
the Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica).

"It is not entirely true," Meru Betiri National Park's
director, Indra Arinal, told a discussion on the Javan tiger,
held in Bhayangkara University, Surabaya, last month.

"The people living around the national park have claimed one
or two sightings (recently). Someone even offered me a tiger
skin, priced at millions of rupiah. Based on these facts, can we
declare the Javan tiger extinct?" Indra said.

"We can only confirmed its extinction if, after one year of
tracking, the species' paw prints, trails, droppings or remains
of prey are not found."

From July to November last year, the East Jakarta conservation
office, in cooperation with provincial nature lovers' groups,
tried to trace the tiger in the Meru Betiri area.

The team found the remains of a large trail, together with
three smaller trails. "This may be the mark of a mother with
three offspring," a member of the team, Wahyu Giri Prasetya said.

Later, they also found some fur, which could be evidence of
the Javan tiger's existence.

The University of Indonesia could not conduct DNA testing on
the fur due to a lack of facilities.

The fur was sent to an animal laboratory in Idaho, the U.S.,
in January this year.

Indra said he expected to get the results in August.

Half a century ago, Asia was the tiger's kingdom. Its
population was spread throughout Indonesia, India, Malaysia and
China. In the 18th century, it is estimated that its population
was over 100,000.

Hundreds of years ago, this predator roamed from the east
coast to the west coast of Indonesia, especially in mountainous
area. The presence of Dutch colonies, combined with man's
penetration into the interior began a dark era for the tiger. The
tiger's beautiful pelt became prized items, sought by many
European aristocrats.

The largest slaughter happened at the end of 18th century,
reaching its peak in about the 1930s.

Official reports state that the last direct sighting of a
Javan tiger was in 1974, when natural signs such as paw prints,
feces, trail marks and prey remains were found. There have been
no reports of sightings since then. The only physical remains to
be seen are that of a stuffed Javan tiger in Bandung's zoological
museum.

In the 1970s, the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), together
with the Ministry of Forestry's Directorate General of Forest
Protection and Nature Preservation, attempted a photo-trap
method. Previously, this method had successfully counted the
population of Javan rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros sondaicus), known
for their timidity with humans, in Ujung Kulon National Park,
West Java.

WWF teams have predicted that the natural habitat of Javan
tigers has shrunk to just the Meru Betiri area. In 1974, the WWF
concluded that there are only 30 left in the area.

In 1990, the photo-trap method was attempted again by WWF. The
result: the Javan tiger's population had sharply dropped. In
their report, they estimated that only three to five tigers still
roam Meru Betiri National Park.

Four years later, the WWF and the Directorate General of
Forest Protection and Nature Preservation held another photo-trap
in Meru Betiri. The outcome was devastating. A year of this
method did not record any sightings of the tiger.

The WWF then declared the Javan tiger extinct.

But the Meru Betiri park management would not give up.

"We are determined to prove the existence of Javan tiger. This
animal needs to be saved before its too late. Not only do we need
to conserve the Javan tiger but Meru Betiri needs assistance."
said Indra, who spends most of his time in the middle of the Meru
Betiri jungle.

"Clues of the tiger's existence," Indra added, "still crop up.
The animal's claw marks on tree trunks along Malangsari and
Sember Lengser are still found. Marked as high as 205 centimeters
and 250 centimeters, no other animal except the tiger can scratch
that high."

Meru Betiri National Park is bordered by the eastern tip of
Java and the coastal area facing the Indian Ocean and Javan
Straight. It is in the Jember and Banyuwangi administration area.

Unfortunately, the park's existence is being threatened by the
potential plan of turning the area into a gold mining sight.
Exploration permits of one million hectares wee issued by the
Ministry of Mines and Energy to PT Hatman and PT Timah Indonesia.
A feasibility study has been conducted and will be presented next
month in the House of Representatives.

"Please calculate the profit from gold exploration in the park
and weigh it against the environmental damage it will cause,"
said Indra. "What we should realize is the loss to future
generations, who will no longer be able to enjoy the park's flora
and fauna. They will only hear the legend of the Javan tiger."