"From the video we can see that it is a healthy tiger, and it is normal for him to escape from human presence," he noted.
Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA) - A wild Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) was captured on camera roaming around the facility of oil firm PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia, Siak District, Wednesday, allegedly fleeing from the forest fire that gutted the region.

"Yes, it has been confirmed that it is a Sumatran tiger. It appeared this morning at 7 a.m. local time," Head of the Riau Natural Resource Conservation Agency (BBKSDA) Suharyono told ANTARA on the sidelines of the commemoration of National Natural Conservation Day 2019 here on Wednesday.

Video of the tiger, which went viral in Riau, showed the wild animal running near the fence of the Chevron facility.

Suharyono confirmed the receipt of information from Vice President External Affairs of Chevron Hasim M. Noor explaining that the video was taken by a security guard at Kilometer 5 of the eastern Trans-Sumatra road near the Gathering Station (GS) facility 5 of Chevron in Minas, Siak District.

It was the first time that a Sumatran tiger was found roaming around the oil facility in the morning, Suharyono stated, adding that this might be the upshot of a forest fire in the district that had ravaged the species' habitat.

Land and forest fires had engulfed a wider area in Riau since July, including in Siak District, and triggered haze in several regions.

Related news: Satellites detect 138 hotspots of forest fires in Riau

"This is because the land and forest fires had destroyed the habitat, so this species had fled its habitat. I hope that it should not be viewed as an enemy," he added.

He confirmed that the Sumatran tiger is mature and healthy. "From the video we can see that it is a healthy tiger, and it is normal for him to escape from human presence," he noted.

The agency has sent a team to rescue the endangered species, Suharyono stated.

EDITED BY INE

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Translator: FB Anggoro, Sri Haryati
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2019