"We continue to prevent and mitigate negative interactions between Sumatran tigers and local residents for the sake of our tiger preservation," the agency's head, Ujang Wisnu Barata, told journalists here, Tuesday.
Based on the 2019 feasibility analysis of the tiger population, the total number of wild Sumatran tigers inhabiting Aceh's wilderness habitat was estimated at 170, he remarked.
However, tiger-human conflicts remain frequent in several districts, including South Aceh, East Aceh, and South East Aceh. Therefore, prevention and mitigation efforts are indispensable, Barata remarked.
To this end, the BKSDA continues its public awareness campaigns and sets up voluntary groups within local communities to help with human-tiger conflict mitigation and prevention, he stated.
"We also conduct routine patrols and surveillance on the tiger population and provide anti-tiger attack cages," he remarked while warning locals against setting tiger traps, as they could harm the tigers and other animals.
Sumatran tigers, the smallest of all tigers, are currently a critically endangered species only found on Sumatra, Indonesia's second-largest island.
Tigers are on the brink of extinction owing to deforestation, poaching, and conflicts between wild animals and local people caused by shrinking habitats.
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Translator: M.Haris SA, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Primayanti
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