Wildlife Heritage Foundation

WHF involvement in Sumatran Tiger Conservation

A report written jointly by WWF and TRAFFIC in 2004 suggested that Indonesia would lose its remaining tiger species – the Sumatran tiger – if the wide spread illegal trade in tiger parts and loss of forest habitat was not stopped.

With less than 400 tigers thought to remain in the wild, the pressure on habitat and the poaching of some 50 tigers a year clearly indicates a species in crisis.

Sumatran tigers are killed to supply a substantial domestic market for tiger skins and other parts, such as bones, for traditional Asian medicine and for trophies, charms and souvenirs.

Extinction is forever and Indonesia has already lost two other island tiger species, the Bali tiger in the 1930´s and the Javen tiger as recently as the 1980´s.

At Wildlife Heritage Foundation we hold one of approximately 50 pairs of Sumatran tiger held within a well managed European breeding programme.

This population grows in importance each day as an insurance against the total extinction of this beautiful animal. (See our tigers: Puna and Nias)

Through "21st Century Tiger", another UK based conservation trust, WHF is assisting with the funding of a major project in Jambi, Sumatra. This is a partnership involving PT Asiatic Persada, the oil palm producers who manage vast tracts of land in the Jambi area.

First monitoring of tigers in the area was undertaken by installing automatic "camera traps". As all tigers are uniquely marked it was soon possible to identify at least seven adults living in the area.

A vet who assists WHF in the care of our animals, Dr John Lewis, works with this project to supervise veterinary care of wild animals involved in the current phase of the programme to capture wild tigers and "radio collar" them to establish how the tigers use the landscape as territories.

Inputs of data from WHF cats has helped determine requirements such as tiger "collar size", weights, etc.

Long term we understand that no area of protected land will ever be large enough to support viable tiger populations so this project aims to establish wildlife corridors linking remaining forest areas, so that the tigers can move around reasonably freely. Parts of the Asiatic Persada estate are less intensely managed but do provide basic needs for tigers such as cover, water and food in the form of wild pigs.

Fortunately tigers do not normally go near the villages where the plantation workers live, as apart from a few dogs and chickens there is no domestic stock in the area, therefore reducing the likelihood of human / tiger interaction.

There are problems with poaching which are in part managed using equipment and expertise supplied by the international zoo community. Thanks to the efforts of Asiatic Persada, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and a team from London Zoo illegal activity in the area has reduced considerably.

It is hoped that the tiger management system in place in Jambi can be rolled out to other areas in Southeast Asia. WHF intends to become move involved as our funding increases.