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Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is a subspecies of tiger found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Recent genetic testing has revealed the presence of unique genetic markers, which isolate Sumatran tigers from all mainland subspecies. About !!"#!! wild Sumatran tigers were believed to e$ist in %&&', but their numbers have continued to decline. (he Sumatran (iger is the smallest of all surviving tiger subspecies. )ale Sumatran tigers average *! cm (+ feet, ' inches) in length from head to tail and weigh about %,+ kg (,!! lb). -emales average %&' cm (+ feet, + inches) in length and weigh about &% kg (*!! lb). Its stripes are narrower than other subspecies of tigers. stripes, and it has a more bearded and maned appearance, especiall/ the males. Its small si0e makes it easier to move through dense rain forests. It has webbing between its toes that, when spread, makes Sumatran tigers

ver/ fast swimmers. It has been known to drive hoofed pre/ into the water, especiall/ if the pre/ animal is a slow swimmer. Sumatran (igers commonl/ pre/ on larger ungulates, like 1ild 2oar, )ala/an (apir and deer, and sometimes also smaller animals, like fowl, monke/s, and fish. 3rangutans could be pre/, but since the/ spend a minimal amount of time on the ground, tigers rarel/ catch one. Sumatran tigers will sometimes pre/ upon mice and other small mammals when larger pre/ is scarce.

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(he Sumatran tiger is onl/ found naturall/ in Sumatra, a large island in western Indonesia. Its habitat ranges from lowland including forests peat to sub"mountain forests. and mountain"forests, of its habitat is swamp )uch

unprotected, with onl/ about in 5unung 6euser 7ational

!! living in game reserves and 8ark. Another %!! live in

national parks. (he largest population of about %%! tigers lives unprotected areas which are being converted for agriculture. 9eforestation resulting from the production of palm oil is a ma:or threat to the Sumatran (iger. ; < (he reserves also do not provide safet/, as man/ tigers are killed b/ poachers each /ear despite conservation efforts. According to the (iger Information =entre and the 1orld 1ildlife -und there are no more than #!! remaining Sumatran (igers in the wild, with some estimates considerabl/ lower. (he continuing loss of habitat is intensif/ing the crisis to save this tiger.

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In *!!+ the Indonesia -orestr/ Service, the 7atural Resources Sumatran and (iger =onservational =onservation Agenc/ 8rogram (2@S9A) sat and the with down

commercial concession holders and Asia 8ulp A 8aper and set the foundations for the Senepis 2uluhala (iger Sanctuar/, an area that covered %!+,!!! hectares in Riau b/ *!!'. (hese organi0ations formed (he (iger =onservation 1orking 5roup with other interested parties and the pro:ect is recognised as a pioneering initiative. =urrent studies include the identif/ing of feeding behavior of tigers to develop strategies that will help protect both tigers and human settlements. In *!!B, the Indonesian -orestr/ )inistr/ and Safari 8ark established conservation cooperation of with the Australia and other Coo for the Sumatran (igers endangered

species. (he cooperation agreement was marked b/ the signing of a 6etter of Intent on .Sumatran (iger and other >ndangered Species =onservation 8rogram and the >stablishment of a Sister Coo Relationship between (aman Safari and Australia Coo. at the Indonesian -orestr/ )inistr/ office on Dul/ ,%, *!!B. (he program includes conserving Sumatran (igers and other endangered species in the wild, efforts to reduce conflicts between tigers and humans and rehabilitating Sumatran (igers and reintroducing them to their natural habitat.

Sumatran Tiger

Sumatran Tiger:
(igers were once distributed widel/ from (urke/ to the Indonesia island of 2ali. (his vast historical range has been greatl/ reduced in the last *!! /ears, through habitat loss, depletion of pre/ and killing of tigers. In Indonesia, the Davan and 2ali (igers have alread/ become e$tinct and now onl/ the Sumatran (iger remains. A failure to vigorousl/ protect these last tigers will mean the loss from Indonesia of one of the worldEs most iconic species. 1=S Indonesia has been working to protect Sumatran tigers since %&&'., centered first around 2ukit 2arisan Selatan 7ational 8ark in southern Sumatra. In *!!B, we then e$tended our efforts considerabl/ to include the 2ukit 2alai Re:ang forests of south"central of northern Sumatra SumatraF and the the vast 6euser >cos/stem largest remaining

landscape for tigers in Sumatra

The Human Aspect


2ukit 2arisan and 2ukit 2alai Re:ang form a B,!!! km * landscape stretching **! km along the 2arisan )ountains of southern Sumatra. 1ith %,!!! km of border, and ringed b/ human settlements. (he region is the most densel/ populated in Sumatra and local people and tigers are effectivel/ competing for the same resources. (he 6euser >cos/stem, spanning Aceh and 7orth Sumatra provinces, on the other hand, forms a continuous area of forest e$ceeding ,!,!!! km*. 1hile much of this forest is relativel/ intact, the tsunami of 9ecember *!! devastated much of the

regions societ/, econom/, and infrastructure. (he new demand for resources, and the histor/ of separatist conflict that has resulted in weak law enforcement, creates a real challenge for conservation.

Population Status and Threats


4abitat loss, tiger pre/ poaching, tiger poaching and human conflict are the ma:or threats to tigers in Sumatra. (he first is of great concern, as it affects all forest species. (he second is a threat as the main food for tigers is removed. (he third, poaching of tigers, is actuall/ a composite of man/ kinds of killingG hunting to satisf/ the demand for tiger parts, and retaliator/ acts in response to killing of livestock or humans b/ tigers.

WCS Activities
4abitat loss, tiger pre/ poaching,current approach to tiger conservation has four componentsG

Collaborative law enforcement: 1e operate a 1ildlife =rimes Hnit in both southern and northern Sumatra to investigate wildlife tradeF to provide legal support in prosecutions, andF to promote awareness of the law. (his work has contributed to the arrest of over *# tiger, elephant and rhino poachers since *!!,, and we are now seeing a drop in reported crime where we have worked the hardest. Conflict awareness and education : 1e work with local communities to mitigate conflict between humans and tigers. (his includes innovative Itiger"proof livestock

enclosuresJ, livestock management, and personal safet/ advice. In 2ukit 2arisan, where we have undertaken such work most e$tensivel/, we have seen an drop in conflict incidents b/ '#K in the last /ear, with no tigers or people killed and a 'BK reduction in livestock deaths. 1e are now e$tending this work to 6euser.

Habitat protection: 1=S is working across Sumatra to protect remaining tiger habitat. (his work includes law enforcement to address illegal encroachment and logging, promoting environmentall/ s/mpathetic agro"forestr/ in buffer 0one areas, spatial and land use planning, and the development of local government"led carbon financed forest protection schemes. 1e are also working hard with our partners from the 9epartment of -orestr/ to strengthen the management of national parks.

Monitoring our effectiveness: Since *!!+ we have led the development of a long"term monitoring program using a patch occupanc/ approach. (his program is a collaboration with man/ other stakeholders and is now being implemented across Sumatra. (his tool will allow us to assess the status of tigers and their pre/ over time, to evaluate our work, and to adapt to changes in population status.

Important Next Steps

Building a National Wildlife Crimes Network: Including a national media campaign to raise awareness of wildlife

laws, to increase sentencing of offenders and to increase coordination between agencies and stakeholders.

Promoting tiger conservation through partnership : 1e are bringing together partners in Sumatran tiger conservation. (hrough pooling knowledge and resources, this partnership network will strengthen e$isting work and e$pansion our impact. Developing an integrated management database : 9uring the first phase this will be implemented in the 6euser >cos/stem to provide a spatiall/ e$plicit"conservation monitoring tool to the management authorities, and other stakeholders. If successful, this will become the first e$ample of its kind in Indonesia.

Summary
8oaching of Sumatran tigers has not shown an/ sign of decreasing. 9uring %&&'L&& 11- and (RA--I= collected tiger poaching data and concluded that at least ++ tigers had been killed in the last two /ears in central and southern Sumatra. (his is equivalent to *!K of tiger population of three"quarters of the island. )ore than half of the tigers killed are from protected areas. 2ukit (igapuluh 7ational 8ark in Riau has lost at least + tigers in the last * /ears. (he tiger population status in this park is unknown and patrols b/ the park rangers are ineffective. (his pro:ect intends to gather information on the tiger population and launch anti"poaching units. It will collaborate

with the Sumatran (iger 8ro:ect, which has been running in 1a/ @ambas over the last three /ears. It will also seek to build on earlier pro:ects in this area which focused on communit/ based conservation and trade monitoring (I9!%%B and I9!%+ ).

Bac ground
(he wild Sumatran tiger populations are e$tremel/ threatened because of habitat loss and poaching. )ost wild Sumatran tigers are found in protected areas of the 6euser ecos/stem, @erinci Seblat, 2ukit (igapuluh, 2erbak, 2ukit 2arisan Selatan and 1a/ @ambas. (he 1orld 2ank (referring to -A3 research) reported the increased deforestation in Indonesia from +!!,!!! hectares per /ear in %&'% to %,!!!,!!! hectares in %&&%. )ore recent estimation from the (he Regional 8h/sical 8lanning 8rogramme for (ransmigration (Re88rot) and the )inistr/ of -orestr/ and >state =rops found %,+!!,!!! hectares of annual deforestation between %&'# and %&&'. It is strongl/ suspected that significantl/ higher deforestation rates occurred after the econom/ crisis in %&&B.

In addition to this, poaching of Sumatran tiger remains high. (iger parts were easil/ found for sale in common markets in big cities of Dava and Sumatra in %&&&. (rade investigations carried out b/ 11- in %&&' and%&&& concluded that at least ++ tigers have been killed in those two /ears in central and southern Sumatra. (he same investigation b/ Ron (ilson and (ra/lor"

4ol0er in %&& concluded that ,+ tigers were poached annuall/. (here have been at least *!B tigers poached between %&& and %&&&. (his is equivalent to about one"third to half of wild Sumatran tiger populations. )oreover, more than half of the tigers killed are from protected areas, indicating that the patrol s/stem is not effective. 6aw enforcement for tiger poachers has been weak because :udicial officers are not sufficientl/ familiar with the =onservation Act (which assigns much heavier sentences than common criminal law), and law enforcement officers do not have sufficient knowledge to identif/ tiger parts. )arket demand for tiger parts in Indonesia is for both e$port (suppl/ing traditional =hinese )edicine) and domestic market (skin, teeth). Indonesia is unique in that it is an e$porter as well as a consumer of tiger parts. In the 11- 5lobal (iger Action Strateg/ 1orkshop recentl/ held in Indonesia, 22S"@S"2,! (2ukit 2arisan Selatan " @erinci Seblat " 2ukit (igapuluh) landscape was recogni0ed as one of the priorit/ tiger conservation units ((=Hs). )ore than half of wild Sumatran tigers inhabit this (=H.

!"#ectives
11- is proposing an integrated conservation programme across a , /ear period to address the dwindling tiger populationsG

%. 9ecrease wild Sumatran tiger poaching incidences in 2ukit (igapuluh *. Identif/ ke/ parameters of tiger and its pre/ populations in 2ukit (igapuluh ,. 9ecrease market demand for tiger parts in big cities in Dava . Improve capabilit/ of law enforcement officers to identif/ tiger I parts t is proposed that 11-"HS participate in activities

pursuing ob:ectives % and *. (he other components are supported b/ 11-"H@, 11-"76, 11- International and >A8>I (>ast Asia and 8acifice >nvironmental Initiative) funds from the HS State 9epartment. (he (iger -oundation will be also funding activities to pursue ob:ectives % and *. -unds from 11-"HS will be also used for the operation of anti"poaching units and camera trapping activities.

Solution
Immediate action is needed to curb poaching of wild Sumatran tigers. In particular, a patrol s/stem needs to be introduced in 2ukit (igapuluh 7ational 8ark. 3ther pockets of tiger habitat (6euser, @erinci Seblat, 2ukit 2arisan Selatan and 1a/ @ambas) have had anti" poaching patrols operating (though some are not specificall/ for tigers). 4owever, to prevent poaching of wild Sumatran tigers, it is not

enough to simpl/ deplo/ anti"poaching patrols in tiger habitats. Rather, market demand for tiger parts also needs to be stopped

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