Indonesia officials vow to capture tiger behind second attack in 5 days
- Wednesday’s attack in a protected forest reserve in Aceh province left both victims with serious injuries to their heads, hands and feet
- It comes after four locals were attacked in the same reserve on Saturday, leaving one in a critical condition. It’s not known if it was the same tiger
The latest attack took place in a protected forest reserve in Aceh province – which sits on the northern tip of Sumatra island, in the country’s west – at about 2am.
Sumatran tigers – targeted by poachers for their body parts – are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild.
They are also afflicted by increasing conflict with humans, and rampant deforestation that has reduced their natural habitat.
Wednesday’s attack left both victims with serious injuries to their heads, hands and feet, a local conservation agency said.
“We will rescue and relocate the tiger,” the head of the Aceh conservation agency Agus Rianto said, adding that the farmers had been working illegally inside the protected area.
Images seen by reporters showed a victim with a deep gash across the back of his head, after the attack in Kluet Tengah subdistrict in southern Aceh.