P

eople dwelling at Way Haru hamlet in Pengekahan village, West Lampung, have protested the recent release of a Sumatran tiger into the Tambling Nature Wildlife Conservation (TWNC) area.

The tiger, named Mekar, was released into the area, which is part of the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS), on Aug. 28, after she was captured in neighboring
Bengkulu.

The tiger, which is estimated to be more than two years old, 185-centimeter long, 77-centimeter tall and weighing 63 kilograms, is categorized as on the brink of extinction.

Before being captured by Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) on July 11 in
Mekar Jaya village in Seluma regency, Mekar had often ventured into human settlements, scaring local residents.

However, the relocation has also caused fears to residents near Mekar’s new habitat.

She is the third tiger to be relocated to the area.

“The central government and TNWC donors have always contended that areas around Tampang and Belimbing [Tambling] are suitable for the release and rehabilitation of Sumatran tigers because the forest is still good and food for tigers is adequate there.

“But they have ignored the fact that hundreds of residents live in the area without protection,” Lampung Traditional Community Alliance (AMAN) chief Ichwanto M. Nuh said Monday.

Members of the Belimbing traditional community were legal Indonesian citizens and not forest clearers, Ichwanto said. These people had been protecting the forest while earning a living in the jungle for generations.

“People there have had to accept the arrival of three tigers over the past year. At the end of January, two tigers from Aceh named Buyung [seven years old] and Panti, 5, were also released there and have terrorized residents,” said Ichwanto.

A traditional figure regarded as the leader of the Belimbing traditional community, Khusairi Raja Muda, 38, said residents of Pengekahan could not carry out their daily activities normally since Tambling had been turned into a tiger release site years ago.

They have to go home early in the afternoon for fear of being mauled.

According to Khusaisi, the residents were traumatized since the release of the two tigers named Agam and Pangeran in July 2008.

“A few weeks after the release, Agam and Pangeran were still roaming around the village and even slept in a school compound. They have also eaten many of the villagers’ livestock,” Khusairi said.