Poachers kill endangered Sumatran tiger in Indonesia Zoo

The tiger kileld by criminals in a zoo in Indonesia. Photo credit Noriaki Sakaguchi

ZSL Condemns Tiger Murder

August 2009. The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is calling for further enforcement to protect Sumatran tigers, after a female tiger that had formerly been part of a conservation project run by ZSL was slaughtered at Jambi Zoo in Indonesia for her body parts.

Poachers broke into the Zoo where they drugged and then skinned the tiger in its enclosure. They fled from the scene leaving only a few remains of the tiger behind. It's believed the body parts will be sold on the black market, where they're in high demand for their use in Chinese medicine.

ZSL conservationists have recently started working with the Jambi provincial government to set up a local wildlife crime team, using trainers from experienced and successful units elsewhere in Sumatra. The team will work with local law enforcement authorities and the staff of Berbak National Park, to prevent poaching and other illegal activities in and around the park and to investigate local wildlife traders and middlemen.

Sarah Christie, tiger conservation manager for ZSL said: "This tragic incident highlights the need for improved law enforcement at a local level. It is shocking that this tiger, who has contributed to tiger conservation via her role in training young Indonesian wildlife biologists and vets, should fuel the trade in wildlife parts which threatens her kind with extinction."

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is involved in conservation efforts to save the Sumatran Tiger in the region and in 2003, ran a veterinary workshop at Jambi Zoo which included the female tiger.