Tiger kills five-year-old girl in Bengkulu

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Mon, 11/07/2011

Fitria binti Judin, 5, was found dead on Saturday after a Sumatran tiger attacked and dragged her from a small plantation run by her parents near Cirebon Baru village in Kepahiang regency, Bengkulu.

“The incident took place on Saturday morning. The victim was playing with her two elder siblings outside their house when suddenly a tiger emerged from the wood and attacked her,” Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservancy Agency (BKSDA) head Supartono said on Monday in Bengkulu.

He said that upon the attack, Fitria’s siblings immediately ran to the nearest village, Cirebon Baru, which was seven kilometers away from the plantation, seeking help from villagers as their parents’ whereabouts were unknown.

The victim was found dead, about 20 meters from where the attack had taken place, with her left leg missing, believed to have been eaten by the tiger.

“She was already lifeless when found, while the tiger had retreated to the woods. The residents immediately evacuated the victim and brought her to their village for burial,” Supartono said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added that six BKSDA officers had been tasked with investigating the incident.

Supartono said the plantation may be located inside the Bukit Daun protected forest. If the plantation is found to be outside the forest, officers will be told to capture the tiger and take it to a conservation area.

In 2011, Bengkulu recorded seven incidents between humans and tigers in five of its regencies, including Lebong, Seluma and North Bengkulu.

Supartono said the number of the cases had been increasing over the years due to forest destruction in the province, mostly because of illegal logging.