Indonesia: a tiger wanted after a second attack in a few days

BET À DAY

A Sumatran tiger attacked and injured two farmers in a locality in western Indonesia on Wednesday, after a first incident a few days earlier that led authorities to promise to capture the tiger. feline. 

This latest attack took place around 2 a.m. local time (9 p.m. GMT Tuesday) in a protected forest reserve in the province of Aceh which constitutes the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, in the west of the country.

Sumatran tigers are the target of poachers and are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Less than 400 of these felines would live in the wild.

They are also victims of conflicts with local populations, and rampant deforestation which has reduced the surface of their natural habitat.

The two victims of Wednesday's attack suffered serious injuries to the level of the head, hands and feet, the local conservation organization told AFP.

“We are going to rescue and move the tiger,” Agus Rianto told AFP. at the head of the province's nature protection agency, adding that the farmers were working illegally inside the protected area.

Images seen by AFP show a victim with a deep gash on the back of the head after the attack in Kluet Tengah sub-district, southern Aceh province.

Soldiers, community protection officials nature and rangers had been deployed on Saturday for search purposes after four residents were attacked by a tiger in the same area serve, which caused a serious injury.

There was nothing to indicate that the two attacks were carried out by the same feline.