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)