Tiger attacks stop replanting

Tiger attacks stop replanting

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: Frequent tiger attacks in Sumberjaya
district, West Lampung, have stopped workers replanting and
watering seedlings in the protected Tangkit Tebak forest, Antara
reported yesterday.

"We had to stop working," said Munawawi of state forestry
company Inhutani V. "We don't want to expose our workers to
unnecessary risks because the tigers that roam the area are
wild."

An employee of the company, Gustiah, was mauled to death
earlier this month. Then two locals were killed and three others
injured in other attacks.

Teams dispatched by the local forest conservation office and
the Taman Safari Indonesia park have not yet caught the estimated
12 man-eating tigers, some of which are cubs.

Munawawi said that, since Gustiah's death, workers had been
moved to safer areas. "Their lives are much more important," he
said. (swe)