Fewer than 400 left, and around 50 killed each year
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The Sumatran Tiger is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of threatened animals - the next category down is Extinct. The total population of these rare tigers is fewer than 400 individuals.
However, according to a 2004 report on the Sumatran tiger, an estimated 253 were killed or live-trapped from 1998-2002, at an average of 51 tigers per year. The maths are not hard to work out...
Habitat for the Sumatran tiger has been reduced by logging and settlement to around 130,000km², with just 42,000km² of that protected as some form of conservation area.
Indonesian Forestry officials acknowledge that in many parts of Sumatra, illegal timber harvesting and conversion of land for agriculture and plantations are out of control.
Loss of habitat remains a significant threat to these tigers. Moreover, it serves to increase the tiger's vulnerability to poaching.
However, according to a 2004 report on the Sumatran tiger, an estimated 253 were killed or live-trapped from 1998-2002, at an average of 51 tigers per year. The maths are not hard to work out...
Habitat for the Sumatran tiger has been reduced by logging and settlement to around 130,000km², with just 42,000km² of that protected as some form of conservation area.
Indonesian Forestry officials acknowledge that in many parts of Sumatra, illegal timber harvesting and conversion of land for agriculture and plantations are out of control.
Loss of habitat remains a significant threat to these tigers. Moreover, it serves to increase the tiger's vulnerability to poaching.
Poaching accounts for 78% of tiger deaths
According to the TRAFFIC report there is no evidence that tiger poaching has declined significantly since the early 1990s. This is despite the intensified conservation and protection measures in Sumatra over the past decade, and the apparent success globally in curtailing markets for tiger bone.
The TRAFFIC survey of tigers killed in Sumatra indicates that poaching for trade is responsible for the vast majority (over 78%) of estimated tiger deaths, consisting of at least 40 animals per year and possibly higher.
Only 4 convictions for tiger poaching
Adequate Indonesian legislation is in place to protect the Sumatran tiger. However, enforcement and prosecution of these laws is lacking or, in many areas, non-existent. In Sumatra there have been only four known convictions for tiger poaching and trade since 1997. Why?
Resources are limited in Indonesia, especially for the prosecution of wildlife cases. A lack of trained and capable enforcement personnel is a problem which is, however, steadily being addressed by the government and conservation groups, and there have been major investments in training and support for forestry staff and police.
Hopefully, this will not be "too little, too late".