Palm | Kelapa Sawit

Antara 17 Feb 13;

Palembang, South Sumatra (ANTARA News) - World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Indonesia said that at least 80 Sumatran Tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) are breeding well in South Bukit Barisan National Park.

"Dozens of tigers live well in the forests of South Sumatra and Lampung," said Project Leader of WWF Indonesia Job Charles here on Sunday.

According to him, despite the fact that human activities have threatened the tigers` habitat, the breeding of this species pans out in Sumatra's national parks.

The success of the tiger breeding is thanks to the cooperation between nature lovers and the local community who help protect the habitat of the tigers.

"The WWF along with other institutions and local communities are continuously preserving the habitat in order to promote the tiger's breeding and increase the population," said Charles.

The NGO activists, said Charles, conduct patrol in the habitat regularly.

According to the WWF, the population of tigers on Sumatra Island is around 200 heads. "The species will not extinct if the whole communities are actively helping preserve their habitats and let the tigers breed optimally," said Charles.

Previously, Sarah Christie, Zoological Society of London (ZSL)'s head of regional conservation said in a statement that a camera trap caught video of a mother tiger and her two cubs in a protected Sumatran forest, the first evidence of breeding in this location, conservationists say.

The footage was captured in Sumatra's Sembilang National Park. Scientists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have documented evidence before of the endangered species in nearby Berbak National Park in Sembilang Conservation area, Jambi Province.

The video of these big cats shows the mother and her two youngsters walking past the camera. Scientists said they estimate the cubs are less than a year old. They live in their original habitat in mangrove forest, said Sarah.

"We will continue working with leaders of both national parks as well as the government to ensure the areas are better protected and well patrolled," she said.

(B019/F001)

Editor: Ade Marboen