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Sumatran tigers in Aceh's Ulu Masen need protection: Study
A recently published study suggests that more efforts are needed to protect and conserve Sumatran tigers in the Ulu Masen Ecosystem, including up to 700 rangers to secure the unprotected forest area against poachers.
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A Sumatran tiger prowls its enclosure on Jan. 15, 2024 at the Medan Zoo in North Sumatra’s provincial capital. (AFP/Iwan Gunadi)
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vast swath of rainforest in Aceh has sufficient resources for Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) to thrive in the wild, a recent study suggests, but researchers are urging more efforts to protect the big cats from the increasing threat of poaching.
More than 70 percent of Sumatra tigers that remain in the wild are believed to live in areas outside national parks and other protected forests across the country’s westernmost province, such as the Ulu Masen Ecosystem.
Ulu Masen measures 9,500 square kilometers, slightly bigger than the area of Banten, and spans five regencies in Aceh. Although Ulu Masen has not been granted the special protection of a national park like the neighboring Leuser Ecosystem, its forests are in generally good condition with relatively few disruption by illegal logging and other extractive activities.
Thanks to the relatively good condition of the forest cover, the big cats have been observed in Ulu Masen by both local residents and researchers like Joe Figel.
Figel placed camera traps in 52 locations between 2020 and 2022 to spot tigers and other wildlife in a forested area nearly the size of 65,000 soccer fields. He and his team of researchers found what they called “a positive outcome”: At least 11 individual tigers were spotted during their study.
“One of the strong takeaways for me from our findings is we did find a fairly intact prey population. That was really good news, particularly of the deers,” said Figel, a science adviser with Leuser International Foundation and codirector of conservation group HutanHarimau.
He was referring to sambar (Rusa unicolor), a large deer native to Southeast Asia that can provide 100 kilograms of meat, sufficient to feed a tigress and her cubs for a week.
