Understanding the Sumatran Tiger

One of Bukit Tigapuluh National Park's most important inhabitants is the critically endangered Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae, Linnaeus 1758). As a subspecies of the tiger (Panthera tigris) the Sumatran tiger is the last surviving tiger in Indonesia, where both the Bali and Javan tiger is the last of the tigers to inhabit these regions, and therefore Bukit Tigapuluh area has a critical role to play in ensuring that tigers continue for future generations and the world.

It is currently estimated that only 400 to 500 Sumatran tigers survive in the wild across the island of Sumatra. Very little was known about the ecology, needs and behavior of the Sumatran tiger in the wild, before the Sumatran tiger in the wild, before the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Program developed remote camera monitoring techniques during a long-term study in southern Sumatra (1996 to present) and a more recently initiated intensive monitoring project in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park (2001 to present).

The Sumatran tiger is threatened across its current range due to a wide range of factors, including loss of habitat and conflict with humans, but also because of poaching for its valuable pelt and bones. The survival of the Sumatran tiger is particularly critical as it represents one of the big cats that has specifically evolved to live in the dense tropical forests characteristic of southeast Asia. It is also Sumatra's largest cat species, an ecologically important top predator which once existed right across the length and breadth of the island. The Sumatran tiger holds a special place in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park where it is shown centerpiece on the park's symbol and logo.