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two-and-a-half-year-old male Sumatran tiger named Bima is currently under care after falling prey to human entrapment.

The Riau Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) in Lubuk Gaung district, Indragiri Hilir regency, found the tiger in a desperate condition in October last year.

The BKSDA placed the tiger under its care and observation in a temporary enclosure managed by Sinar Mas Forestry, a timber company affiliated with Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), in Perawang, Siak regency, during the past six weeks.

Head of the Forestry Ministry’s natural conservation and forest protection directorate general (PHKA), Darori, said conservation experts and a medical team from Bogor’s Safari Park recommended that Bima recuperate for several more weeks before being released.

“Bima will soon be released, but we must wait until he is able to survive in the wild. He is still too young and unable to hunt for prey, plus he could be targeted by poachers,” Darori told The Jakarta Post during a visit to the enclosure on Thursday.

“Don’t repeat the experience in West Sumatra, where a tiger was released only to be killed the following day,” he added.

He mentioned a number of locations offering potential habitats for the tiger, including the Kerumutan wildlife terrain in Pelalawan regency and the Giam Siak Kecil biosphere reserve in Bukit Kecil on the border between Siak and Bengkalis regencies.

The BKSD is currently exploring a forested area measuring 300 hectares in Riau to be turned into a tiger breeding and rehabilitation center.

The plan is that such a center would treat and rehabilitate tigers maimed by traps and those found in conflict areas in order to prevent them from becoming extinct.

“We have found the location; Bima might also be moved there to help meet our target of increasing the tiger population by up to 3 percent by 2014,” he said.

Currently, there are an estimated 400 tigers living in the wild in Indonesia.

The breeding center is also aimed at minimizing the clashes between tigers and humans in Riau, which averages 16 cases annually, and causes the death of at least two tigers every year due to poisoning and poaching.

According to Darori, participation from the private sector is essential due to limited government funding for conservation efforts, as the state budget only allocates Rp 1.5 trillion (US$176 million) to the PHKA and the Forestry Ministry.

“At the Forestry Ministry, this allocation is the largest but on a global scale, the amount is very small - only around $4 per hectare. Malaysia alone sets aside $20 per hectare for its forest conservation budget,” said Darori.