Tiger Enters Residential Settlement In Agam, West Sumatra BKSDA Installs 2 Trapped Cages

KSDA Agam officers installing trap cages (ANTARA)

SUMBAR - The Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of West Sumatra through the Agam Resort has installed trap cages to evacuate the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) which has entered residential areas recently.

The protected animal entered the residential area of Maua Hilia, Jorong Kayu Pasak Timur, Nagari Salareh Aia, Palembayan District.

The head of the Agam KSDA Resort, Ade Putra, said the trap cages were installed in two different locations with a distance of about 400 meters. "The installation of the trap cage involves the Baringin Nagari (Pagari) Children's Patrol Team and the local community," he said in Lubukbasung, Agam, as reported by Antara, Thursday, December 23.

He said the location of the enclosure was the last area where the tiger appeared. At that location, animal footprints were found with new conditions and this was based on the identification carried out by the Agam KSDA Team.

"We provide bait to attract animals protected by Law 5 of 1990 concerning Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and their Ecosystems, to enter into trap cages. We also install camera traps around the cage," he said.

If they enter a trap cage, he added, the animal will be observed and subjected to health checks. After being declared healthy, these animals are immediately released into their habitat.

"If a tiger is sick and requires rehabilitation, we will send it to the Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center in Dharmasraya, owned by the Arsari Foundation," he said.

He admitted that the installation of the trap cage was the last step taken after the human-wildlife conflict. Previously, the Agam KSDA Team had carried out the expulsion of these animals for 10 days after the animals preyed on local residents' cows.

After being expelled using sounds, the animal returned to the settlement and had time to chase the residents' livestock.

"We have made efforts to dispel and deal with it, but the tigers are still entering settlements, so we are evacuating," he said.

Meanwhile, the Guardian of Nagari Silareh Aia, Iron Maria Edi, added that the people of Maua Hilia have been very restless with the appearance of this tiger since one month ago.

"People don't focus when they go to the garden and they don't harvest oil palm and areca nut," he said.

He hopes that the tigers can be secured so that people have the courage to go to the gardens and the community's economy will improve. This human-tiger conflict is a lesson for the community and the nagari government, because it must be corrected and not damage the environment.