Hungry tiger mauls woman

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: Environmental destruction caused a tiger to leave the Sumberjaya forest here and maul a woman to death early this week, a forestry official said yesterday.

The provincial natural resources conservation office's head, Harjanto, said wild boar and other tigers' prey had been forced out of the forest by its exploitation, which was increasing despite a government ban.

"We cannot reveal what made the tiger kill the woman, but our analysis so far concludes that the forest has been damaged by capricious exploitation," Harjanto was quoted by Antara as saying.

The Sumatran tiger killed 29-year-old Juniati, an employee of state forest company Inhutani, Monday while she was taking a bath at a well near her house. Remains of the mother of two children were found in a ravine inside the forest.

Another forestry official, Hayani, said the tiger might be old and hungry because young tigers usually avoided humans.

To avoid further anxiety, the local forestry office formed a team yesterday to catch the tiger. The team of six were scheduled to depart for the forest yesterday afternoon or this morning. (amd)