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Sumatran tiger captured after 100 days of hunting
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Sumatran tiger Gadis is seen at the Barumun Nagari wildlife sanctuary in Padang Lawas Utara, North Sumatra, on Nov. 24, 2016. The four-year-old tiger had her right front paw amputated after it was caught in a boar trap. (AFP/Gatha Ginting)
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fter being hunted for more than 100 days, a Sumatran tiger, called Bonita by animal conservationists, was captured alive on Friday in Indragiri Hilir regency in Riau.
Bonita had been haunting human neighborhoods, scaring residents for months. The latest tiger-human conflict in Sumatra saw a tiger brutally killed, as angry residents in North Sumatra speared the animal to death and later hung it from a ceiling.
Read also: Tiger brutally killed in North Sumatra, hung from ceiling
Following the incident, activists have been campaigning for Bonita’s life, pleading with residents and Riau authorities to capture the big cat alive.
Bonita, estimated to be four years old, had been shot twice with tranquilizer, Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency head Suharyono said in the provincial capital of Pekanbaru on Saturday.
Read also: Why blaming superstition for tiger's death is wrong
A joint team had been on patrol in the wee hours of Friday, amid heavy rain, in a plantation area run by PT Tabung Haji Indo Plantation in Tanjung Simpang village, Pelangiran district. Earlier, they had found Bonita’s traces and followed them. “Her favorite track is hard soil,” Suharyono said.
Bonita was different from other tigers, Suharyono said. Besides preferring a beaten path instead of the bushes, Bonita also showed a calm demeanor when she found herself in a cage. Other tigers would usually fight for their freedom, he said. (evi)
