Tigers spotted near villages

Tigers spotted near villages

JAMBI, Jambi: The Jambi Natural Conservation Agency (KSDA) said on Saturday that rampant illegal logging in the province was destroying Sumatran tigers' habitat and forcing them to move closer to residential areas.

KSDA chief Agus Priambudi said that illegal logging and poaching had threatened the population of Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris Sumatrae) in the province, with estimates saying there were between 100 and 125 tigers left in the wild.

He cautioned locals settling near the forest to be careful, following a recent tiger attack that claimed two lives in Batanghari and Muaro Jambi regencies.

Agus said that Sumatran tigers were nomadic and roamed the national park and forest conservation areas in four provinces in Sumatra, such as Jambi, Bengkulu, Sumatra Barat and South Sumatra. --Antara