Death Of A Leopard Named Abah In Mount Sawal Due To Natural Factors

Officers collect the bones of a leopard found in the Gunung Sawal area, Ciamis Regency, West Java. (ANTARA/HO-KSDA Ciamis)

BANDUNG - The Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of West Java identified the cause of death of a leopard (Panthera pardus) which found only bones in Gunung Sawal, Ciamis Regency, due to natural factors and no traces of violence.

"He died naturally, there were no signs of chemical traces, we checked with a metal detector and found no signs, the bones are still good, there are no cracks after being beaten," said the Head of Region III Natural Resources Conservation. Ciamis, West Java BKSDA Andi Witria told reporters in Ciamis, reported by Antara, Wednesday, February 9.

He said, KSDA Region III Ciamis received a report from residents of the presence of animal bones suspected of being a goat or sheep on February 3, 2022, then an examination was carried out which turned out to be a leopard animal because it had fangs.

The leopard bone found not far from the resident's plantation area, he said, was immediately evacuated for further examination and then matched with the leopard data recorded at the Ciamis KSDA.

He said the results of the examination revealed that the leopard bone was a 14-year-old tiger named Abah who had previously been caught and rehabilitated to be released into the forest.

"We examined the bone, we happened to have morphometric data on Abah, after being matched it was the same in terms of the arrangement of his teeth, it was also confirmed by the veterinarian's statement, so 99 percent of it was Abah," he said.

He said that the tiger named Abah had entered his old age, the average tiger was able to survive in the forest until he was 18 years old.

The condition of Abah's tiger, he said, is that at its age, it has less hunting ability, moreover its fangs have been broken and have been displaced by younger tigers.

"Abah was also last caught his teeth were broken, his hunting ability was reduced, plus he was displaced by a younger male who was stronger," he said.

Regarding the leopard population in Gunung Sawal, Ciamis Regency, Andi said around 11 adults consisted of five males and six females, and the death of one tiger left 10 left.

The Ciamis KSDA officer, Andi said, had received reports from residents of the presence of a leopard cub, but the report needed to be proven by camera footage.

"It still has to be proven where there is a child, it's just that it hasn't been recorded yet," he said.