The Sumatran Tiger Population Is Urgently Declining
Animal extinction is an urgent problem for thousands of animal species suffering across the world. The Sumatran tiger is no exception, with its latest count being in the 400 to 600 range, the Sumatran tiger is classified as a critically endangered species, as stated from the 2008 International Union for Conservation of Nature’s RED LIST. Their low densities and small prey species make it even harder for its conservation. Many factors contribute to the decline of the species, but the main threats in mind are oil palm plantation expansions, illegal trade, and prey-based depletion.
A picture of the famous Sumatran tiger – Photo taken from Yayasan Arsari Djojohadikusumo
Sumatra Island is known for its large oil palm plantations. That puts Sumatra the second largest (after Riau) oil palm producer in Indonesia. With a total area of 16.3 million hectares (based on the 2019 decree signed by the ministry of agriculture on the report of oil palm cover area), to which 2.9 million of that comes from the Sumatran Island alone. Sumatra has a rainforest area cover of 2.5 million hectares, that means these plantations are taking more and more area each year from the rainforest. That also means the loss of animal habitats each year including, you’ve guessed it, Sumatran tigers.
Illegal trading is also an activity that comes to mind when we hear about creatures being endangered and extinct. There have been many reports of plantation workers getting attacked by wild tigers in Sumatra. This has led to locals pushing down on the rainforest to eliminate wild animals surrounding plantations and villages near their community. As an addition, trappers and other exotic wildlife enthusiasts as well as animal hunters, use this opportunity to hunt these tigers for their fur, hide, meat, claws, and etc. Regardless of the motive, it’s still critical to the Sumatran tiger species.
The less discussed reason for the decline of the Sumatran tigers, or any other endangered species for that matter is prey base depletion. Tigers are carnivorous, so it means they only eat meat, they hunt every animal that they can get their paws on. That includes deers, fishes, tapirs, monkeys, and other mammals. The decline may also be caused by low prey species, and the fact that their population is not that big, meaning the number of adult tigers ready to reproduce and their offspring growing up to join the breeding population do not balance the number of tigers declining every year by reasons written above. This only accounts for the tigers living in protected areas of the forest, where they are supported to live and breed. Who knows just how many more tigers are hunted each year in those unprotected areas?
Sumatran tigers’ population has been declining over the years. On one hand, palm oil has been a big commodity to the country, which helps the country’s economy grow in size and the people’s wellbeing. On the other hand, these palm plantation expansions cause these beautiful animals to be endangered and eventually extinct. Illegal trading which may or may not be the counter activity of wild animal attacks has also been critical to the Sumatran tiger population, which those attacks in itself are caused by animal habitats taken up by village, plantations, and community expansions. There is also the matter of species in the wild as prey not being able to support these tigers to live in the wild without supervision, and that’s somewhat of the natural way things are supposed to happen. Each cause leads to another and the decline of the Sumatran tigers are no different. Although there have been many efforts to conserve these tigers, the future of their population has still yet to be cleared. With the conflicts of economic commodity, animal attack counters, and natural decline of its prey species, there needs to be a universal agreement to resolve the issue, whatever it may be, to protect and preserve this beautiful and exotic animal.
Editor: Handiko Wijaya