Google – AFP, 13 March 2013
A trapped
Sumatran tiger on Indonesia's Sumatra island on January 9,
2012 (Nature
Conservation Agency/AFP/File)
|
SIDEMPUAN,
Indonesia — A Sumatran tiger has killed a cocoa farmer in Indonesia, villagers
claimed Wednesday, in the latest apparent attack by the rare wild cat as its
habitat is rapidly cleared for plantations.
The body of
Karman Lubis, 32, was found decapitated around one kilometre (0.6 miles) from a
cocoa plantation on Sumatra island at 02:00 on Tuesday (1900 GMT Monday), while
his head was found hours later in another area, a relative said.
Lubis'
right hand was still missing, Amiruddin Nasution added, saying he was likely
attacked by a tiger sighted days earlier near their village of Rantau Panjang,
adjacent to the Batang Gadis National Park on the island's north.
A national
park office staff member said there were no witnesses to confirm a tiger was to
blame.
"Given
the body's condition, he could have been attacked by a bear, a clouded leopard
or a tiger," said the staff member, who declined to be named.
The
Sumatran tiger is the world's smallest tiger and is critically endangered, with
only an estimated 400 to 500 alive on the Indonesian island.
Rampant
deforestation and poaching have led to a decrease in the number of Sumatran
tigers, experts say.
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