Sumatran tigers: Why are they so special?
Sumatran tigers, like Spot and Stripe, are the smallest sub species of all tigers, and in the wild live only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, in the Indian Ocean.
They’re solitary animals, who can grow to around 130kg, and they’re distinguished by heavy black stripes on their orange coats.
If we can’t save an animal as magnificent as the tiger, what hope do all those other endangered species have?Giles Clark
They hold the unenviable title of the most critically endangered tigers on earth. In recent years the jungles of Sumatra have been plagued by poachers and deforestation, and are now home to less than 500 tigers. And the problem is getting worse – patrol teams working to save tigers in Sumatra’s largest protected national park Kerinci Seblat, have seen a 600% increase in the number of snares set by poachers. The main threat is from traditional eastern medicines, and 80% of tigers killed each year are for commercial gain.
Most conservation groups agree that without drastic intervention, the Sumatran tiger is likely to be completely extinct in the wild within one to two decades. It’s a fate that Giles and his team are fighting hard to change. The work they do at the zoo funds Tiger Conservation Patrol Units in Kerinci Seblat National Park – these local teams spend weeks trekking the jungle, removing snares, and helping authorities catch poachers. Giles has visited Sumatra many times, and been on the ground with these frontline patrols.
He’s determined to do all he can to help stop the demise of tigers in the wild. Giles says “for me personally, I feel that I have to do everything I can, and it keeps me awake at night...the tiger is staring down the barrel of a gun, and it could be gone by the time my son leaves education. Gone completely".
For him, the stakes couldn’t be higher: “If we can’t save an animal as magnificent as the tiger, what hope do all those other endangered species have?”
