Tigers spark fear in Jambi

JAMBI: Residents in a remote village in Tanjungjabung Barat regency, Jambi province, have been gripped by fear over the past few days after a number of Sumatran tigers (Panthera Tigris Sumatraensis) were found to be roaming near their village.

Due to the situation, residents chose to stay indoors.

The head of the Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Board (BKSDA), Maraden Purba, said that the tigers had started coming close to Sungaigebar village as their habitat was shrinking due to illegal logging and the conversion of forest land into plantations.

In Jambi province, between two and three tiger attacks on human beings occur each year. -- JP