Sumatran tiger captured alive

PADANG, West Sumatra: After months of losing their livestock, residents of kampong Pinang in Bungus Teluk Kabung subdistrict, Padang, trapped a Sumatran tiger on Saturday.

The tiger, about one meter in height and 1.5 meters in length, was trapped in Bukit Buaian, near the Air Tarusan nature reserve, some 25 kilometers from Padang.

"Residents here are tired of losing their livestock. At least 15 goats and a cow are believed to have been killed by the tiger," said Butasar Achan, 55, an animal handler.

Several employees from the Nature Conservation Agency in West Sumatra arrived on Sunday to transport the tiger to Kinantan Zoo in Bukittingi.

Djoko Suhardjo from the agency said 10 Sumatran tigers had been captured alive since 1982. All of them were taken to Kinantan Zoo, which sent some of the tigers to zoos across the country. "But since 1982, 10 other Sumatran tigers have been poisoned by residents," he said.

He said that as more of the Air Tarusan nature reserve was transformed into residential land, the fate of the remaining 20 Sumatran tigers in the province became bleaker.-- JP