Extinction Stalks the Sumatran Tiger

CAMBRIDGE, UK, March 17, 2004 (ENS) - Relentless hunting of the Sumatran tiger and logging of its forest habitat for paper has pushed the species to the brink of extinction, conservationists warn in a new report on tiger poaching.

The study finds some 200 Sumatran tigers were killed between 1998 and 2002. Estimates of the remaining tigers range from 250 to 500.

The species will not survive the century if this poaching is not stopped, according to the report by WWF and the wildlife monitoring network TRAFFIC. The tiger is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Indonesia's efforts to address the trade threats to the Sumatran tiger are under scrutiny at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Standing Committee in Geneva this week.

"With so few left, there are doubts about whether the population is still viable," said Dr. Susan Lieberman, director of WWF's International Species Program.

Sumatran tiger cubs. (Photo by Alain Compost courtesy WWF-Canon)

The killing of Sumatran tigers is being driven by Indonesia as well as international demand for tiger parts, according to the report, despite an international ban on such trade and Indonesian laws against poaching.

Undercover investigators with TRAFFIC reported a large domestic market in Indonesia for tiger skins and other parts, such as bone used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The investigators said 20 percent of the 453 Indonesian shops they visited offered tiger products, primarily teeth and claws sold as charms and trophies.

Sumatran tiger parts are also being sold to South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia and China, according to the investigators.

The TRAFFIC report urges the Indonesian government to increase anti-poaching measures and to crack down on the ongoing illegal export of tiger parts from Sumatra, as well as the domestic trade.

"Increased and improved enforcement is critical to saving Sumatran tigers," said Steven Broad, executive director of TRAFFIC. "As a first step, action should be taken against the markets, trade hubs and retail outlets highlighted in the report, especially in northern Sumatra. More specialized anti-poaching units also need to be urgently established."

The issue of habitat loss must also be addressed if the species is to have any long term future, the conservationists say. Paper companies are clearcutting Sumatran forests, eliminating key habitat for the tigers.

WWF is calling for a moratorium on clearing Sumatra's lowland rainforests - prime tiger territory - by the multinational paper giants, including APRIL and Asia Pulp and Paper (APP).

International efforts are failing to slow the market for skins and other tiger parts. (Photo by Edward Parkercourtesy WWF-Canon)

Indonesia already has lost two tiger subspecies, the Bali tiger died out in the 1940s and Javan tigers became extinct in the 1980s.

Three of the world's eight tiger subspecies have gone extinct in the past 70 years - the remaining five subspecies are all endangered.

The population of all five subspecies of tigers is estimated to be between 5,000 and 7,000 in the wild.

"The one bright spot is that tiger populations are able to rebound if they are protected from poaching and their habitat is preserved," said Sybille Klenzendorf, head of WWF's tiger conservation program. "It is not too late for the Indonesian government to get serious about wildlife protection and save the country's last tigers."