Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Riau conservation agency said it found Sumatran tiger tracks after a resident reported a close encounter with the critically endangered animal in a village in Siak District, raising concerns over potential human-wildlife conflict.
Ujang Holisudin, technical head of the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA), said the witness reported seeing the tiger at about 7 p.m. local time on Thursday, January 8, prompting officers to verify conditions on the ground.
A field inspection on Friday found Sumatran tiger footprints measuring about 12 centimeters in an oil palm plantation operated by the Tinera Jaya cooperative in Teluk Masjid Village, Ujang said in a written statement issued in Pekanbaru on Sunday.
Ujang said the witness, identified as Zulfikar, was walking to join two friends who were fishing in the plantation area when he suddenly felt he was being watched from a distance.
Zulfikar initially thought the glowing eyes belonged to cattle, but after shining a flashlight he saw a Sumatran tiger about 4 meters away, separated by a drainage ditch between the road and the plantation.
Frightened, he retreated and sought shelter in a workers' hut, warning his two friends to stop fishing and take cover to avoid further activity in the area.
Officers later found tiger tracks leading toward a production forest zone about 4 kilometers from the encounter site and estimated that only one tiger had passed through the area, Ujang said.
Following the findings, the agency conducted outreach through village authorities, urging residents to remain vigilant and adjust daily activities to reduce the risk of encounters with the protected species.
Residents were advised not to travel alone, prioritize group activities, and avoid early morning, late afternoon, and nighttime work, which coincide with peak activity periods for Sumatran tigers.
ANTARA noted that Sumatran tigers are the only surviving tiger species in Indonesia, following the extinction of the Bali tiger in 1937 and the Javan tiger in the 1970s.
The Sumatran tiger, the smallest tiger subspecies, is critically endangered and found only on Sumatra Island, Indonesia's second-largest island.
Its survival is threatened by deforestation, poaching, and increasing human-wildlife conflict caused by shrinking natural habitats.
Estimates place the wild Sumatran tiger population at fewer than 300 to around 500 individuals across 27 locations, including Kerinci Seblat, Tesso Nilo, and Gunung Leuser national parks.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said the population has declined from about 1,000 individuals in the 1970s.
A 2009 Forestry Ministry report identified human conflict as the primary threat, noting an average of five to 10 tigers killed annually since 1998.
