Preserving the Remaining Jungle Heritage

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

A pair of Sumatran tigers, Putri Singgulung (right) and Putra Singgulung (left), at the Dharmasraya Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center in Nagari Lubuk Besar, Asam Jujuhan, Dharmasraya, West Sumatra, Monday (27/7/2020).

Sumatran tigers are facing a greater threat of human-animal conflict as humans encroach further into their natural habitat, even though humans and tigers have lived alongside each other, sharing the natural environment in which they live.

Ciuniang Nurantih ran in a frenzy inside her cage, which was lined with steel mesh. She was restless as several people passed near her cage. She butted the walls of the cage in search of a space through which she might escape. Unable to find one, Ciuniang roared in a defensive manner.

Operations manager Sauredi Simamora of the Dharmasraya Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center (PR-HSD) said that he understood why the female Sumatran tiger, which was around 2 years old, felt threatened. In the wild, Sumatran tigers tended to avoid humans, and would not hesitate to attack when cornered.

“This is a sign that Ciuniang feels threatened. She cannot run away. She roars in self-defense,” PR-HSD veterinary team coordinator Kartika Amarilis said on Monday (27/7/2020) in Dharmasraya, West Sumatra.

Other requisites for release include physical and mental health and her ability to hunt.

Ciuniang’s behavior is a response to feeling disturbed by the presence of humans, and indicates that the animal is untamed. It also means that the tigress can be released back into the wild. Other requisites for release include physical and mental health and her ability to hunt.

Ciuniang is one of five Sumatran tigers in rehabilitation at the PR-HSD, which is managed by the Arsari Djojohadikusumo Foundation, and will be eventually released into the wild. The PR-HSD is located in an oil palm plantation managed by PT Tidar Kerinci Agung, around 280 kilometers to the south of the West Sumatran capital of Padang by way of Jl. Lintas Tengah Sumatra.

Aside from Ciuniang, who came to the center from Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra, the PR-HSD is also rehabilitating tiger siblings Putra and Putri Singgulung from Solok, West Sumatra, Ria, a 5-year-old tigress from Indragiri Hilir, Riau, and 3.5-year-old Corina from Pelalawan, also Riau. Ciuniang, Putra and Putri are in cages for treatment. Meanwhile, Ria and Corina, both females, are in a semi-natural habituation enclosure.

Driven away

These tigers share the same experience. The wild animals were driven out of their jungle homes as a result of human-animal conflict.

Putra and Putri, for instance, were rescued on respectively 13 and 29 June from the nagari (village) of Gantuang Ciri in Kubung district, Solok. They had been constantly venturing into the local plantations along with their mother since 7 May 2020 and had unsettled the local people. The plantations included concessions located in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS), a protected forest and wildlife reserve.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

Sumatran tiger Putra Singgulung after eating in the care cage of the Dharmasraya Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center managed by Arsari Djojohadikusumo Foundation in Nagari Lubuk Besar, Asam Jujuhan District, Dharmasraya, West Sumatra, on Tuesday (28/7/2020) night.

Meanwhile, Ciuniang was rescued on 13 July from nagari Lubuk Alung in Lubuk Alung district, Padang Pariaman. She was captured on a surveillance camera when she attacked and killed seven goats for food. The goats were kept in pens in a residential area around 5 to 6 kilometers from the TNBBS naure and wildlife reserve.Ria has a tragic story. She is alleged to have killed a person prior to her rescue on 2 May from the PT Riau Indo Agro Palma (RIA) concession area in Tanjung Simpang village, Pelangiran district, Indragiri Hilir. The allegation led to her capture.

Meanwhile, Corina has suffered the most from human contact. She has a deep wound in her right foreleg after it became entangled in steel wire. She was rescued on 29 March from the Meranti block industrial forest concession of PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) in Pelalawan.

Sauredi said that Corina’s injury was very severe and had even exposed the bone. Her health deteriorated during treatment, but Corina eventually recovered from her critical condition and her wound healed. She eventually grew strong enough and was ready for release.

As a consequence, tigers started venturing out of the jungle to prey on livestock.

Erly Sukrismanto, who heads the West Sumatra Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said that human-tiger conflict occurred because human beings had “invaded” the animal’s natural habitat through illegal logging, poaching, and other activities. Poaching using nets and hunting dogs, for instance, had depleted the natural prey of tigers. As a consequence, tigers started venturing out of the jungle to prey on livestock.

Furthermore, tigers have roaming area of 100 square kilometers. Tigers go around in their vast roaming area and need a long time before returning to a spot. Unsurprisingly, sometimes when a tiger returns to a spot, it has been turned into a village by humans.

“It was then viewed as though the tigers were encroaching on [farms], whereas they were actually exploring their own [natural territory] that became inhabited by humans, whether legally or illegally,” Erly explained.

Village protectors

Minangkabau cultural observer Musra Dahrizal Katik Rajo Mangkuto, also known as “Mak Katik”, said that the Minangkabau people thought of tigers as pagar nagari, or village protectors. Tigers often protected people who became lost in the jungle.

Mak Katik said that his mamak rumah (brother-in-law) had experienced this.

“Tigers guided him back to a human settlement. Whenever a person becomes lost [in the forest], tigers roar [to indicate that they’re headed the wrong way]. Or they break branches as a sign [for people] not to go the wrong way. Eventually, the person is able to find their way home,” he said.

Mak Katik added that sometimes, a group of people sometimes stayed too long in the jungle until it grew dark and so they could not make their way back home. The group would then light a fire in the middle of the jungle, and claimed that the tigers had protected them from other wild animals until morning.

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

Veterinarians noted the condition and behavior of rehabilitated Sumatran tigers at the Dharmasraya Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center managed by the Arsari Djojohadikusumo Foundation in Nagari Lubuk Besar, Asam Jujuhan District, Dharmasraya, West Sumatra, Tuesday (28/7/2020) night.

The relationship between tigers and humans is also portrayed in the Minangkabau martial art of silek (silat). Silek Minangkabau has a low stance that resembles the movement of a tiger (Kompas, 26/7/2020). Mak Katik said that ancient Minangkabau people learned basilek (the art of silat) from tigers.

It is unfair that tigers have been marginalized by the economic needs of human beings. Tigers and humans share an equal need for survival, along with all other creatures on earth.

Therefore, a good relationship between humans and tigers must be maintained, including by preserving the local wisdom of maintaining harmony between wild animals and humans.