WWF takes images of rare Sumatran tigers
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![The Sumatran tigers are the smallest tiger subspecies. They are only found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. [WWF]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110510/0014222d98500f32d69805.jpg "The Sumatran tigers are the smallest tiger subspecies. They are only found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. [WWF]") |
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The Sumatran tigers are the smallest tiger subspecies. They are only found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. [WWF] |
World Wild Fund for nature camera traps recorded an astounding 12 tigers in just two months in the central Sumatran landscape of Bukit Tigapuluh in Indonesia, including two mothers with cubs.
A video camera trap in the same area has also captured footage of three young tiger siblings playfully chasing a leaf.
According to WWF, the Sumatran tiger, numbering fewer than 400 individuals in the wild, is found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the last stronghold for tigers in Indonesia.
"Our team was thrilled to discover 47 tiger images in our camera traps, from which we identified six unique individuals," said Karmila Parakkasi, who leads WWF's tiger research team in Sumatra.
"That was the highest number of tigers and tiger images obtained in the first month of sampling we've ever experienced. And then the results from the second month were even more impressive—not just one tiger family but two, with another six tigers."
The forest where the tigers were recorded is under imminent threat of being cleared by the pulp and paper industry, despite being designated a "global priority Tiger Conservation Landscape." It is one of six the government of Indonesia pledged to protect at last November's tiger summit of world leaders in Russia. The area, known as Bukit Tigapuluh, or "Thirty Hills," is located in Riau and Jambi provinces in Central Sumatra.
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