Lampung has around 25 tigers: Survey

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: A recent survey suggests there may be between 20 and 25 Sumatran tigers in Way Kambas National Park.

The survey by the Tiger Project, a program assisted by several international organizations concerned with endangered species, dismissed fears that the tigers were nearly extinct in Lampung.

Chief of the provincial forestry office Eko Wardoyo said over the weekend the project had installed special cameras to observe and count the protected animals.

Project officials were delighted to find lots of tigers recorded, Antara reported.

The project, which has been running for a year, will continue with observations on the beasts' habitat before it comes out with recommendations on how to save the tigers.

Agus Purnomo of the Indonesian chapter of the World Wide Fund said the population of Sumatran tigers was believed to be less than 500 throughout Sumatra.

The "Trade Record Analysis of Flora and Fauna 1993" notes that 14 tigers were killed every year in Mount Leuser of Aceh, Kerinci Seblat of Jambi, Bukit Barisan Selatan and Way Kambas. (pan)