Zürcher Nachrichten - Indonesia hunts clues as study suggests Javan tiger may still exist

EUR -
AED 3.855359
AFN 71.377323
ALL 98.9304
AMD 409.516427
ANG 1.892125
AOA 958.34413
ARS 1056.623594
AUD 1.615519
AWG 1.889397
AZN 1.783436
BAM 1.959346
BBD 2.119737
BDT 125.457077
BGN 1.955898
BHD 0.395617
BIF 3039.829534
BMD 1.049665
BND 1.414788
BOB 7.281457
BRL 6.100126
BSD 1.0499
BTN 88.512294
BWP 14.342507
BYN 3.435719
BYR 20573.431932
BZD 2.116271
CAD 1.468019
CDF 3012.538394
CHF 0.930822
CLF 0.037165
CLP 1025.470248
CNY 7.599311
CNH 7.606927
COP 4605.667141
CRC 535.068474
CUC 1.049665
CUP 27.81612
CVE 110.686953
CZK 25.297954
DJF 186.546724
DKK 7.457556
DOP 63.403524
DZD 140.299428
EGP 52.079328
ERN 15.744973
ETB 129.119469
FJD 2.388985
FKP 0.828518
GBP 0.835408
GEL 2.875939
GGP 0.828518
GHS 16.58171
GIP 0.828518
GMD 74.526346
GNF 9059.657727
GTQ 8.106673
GYD 219.655948
HKD 8.169091
HNL 26.482792
HRK 7.487532
HTG 137.799417
HUF 409.458002
IDR 16637.71341
ILS 3.824506
IMP 0.828518
INR 88.457727
IQD 1375.585844
IRR 44164.650178
ISK 145.073956
JEP 0.828518
JMD 166.621585
JOD 0.744525
JPY 161.875648
KES 135.931727
KGS 91.099783
KHR 4252.192128
KMF 495.96684
KPW 944.698007
KRW 1469.588545
KWD 0.323055
KYD 0.874917
KZT 524.238873
LAK 23050.641277
LBP 94049.974422
LKR 305.502961
LRD 188.939707
LSL 19.03039
LTL 3.099387
LVL 0.634932
LYD 5.127613
MAD 10.574845
MDL 19.19247
MGA 4901.935038
MKD 61.604812
MMK 3409.270632
MNT 3566.761255
MOP 8.413649
MRU 41.886862
MUR 49.039901
MVR 16.227576
MWK 1821.168622
MXN 21.256448
MYR 4.673157
MZN 67.084504
NAD 19.030647
NGN 1771.288201
NIO 38.575455
NOK 11.650062
NPR 141.620031
NZD 1.795658
OMR 0.404098
PAB 1.04992
PEN 3.982432
PGK 4.225689
PHP 61.895602
PKR 291.596027
PLN 4.312506
PYG 8179.805456
QAR 3.821305
RON 4.976566
RSD 116.999844
RUB 109.171889
RWF 1438.040905
SAR 3.941569
SBD 8.799923
SCR 14.330794
SDG 631.372893
SEK 11.529645
SGD 1.412723
SHP 0.828518
SLE 23.858676
SLL 22010.952976
SOS 599.826672
SRD 37.256789
STD 21725.944051
SVC 9.186628
SYP 2637.314389
SZL 19.030664
THB 36.384557
TJS 11.191784
TMT 3.673827
TND 3.338456
TOP 2.458422
TRY 36.294159
TTD 7.131043
TWD 34.062702
TZS 2781.612304
UAH 43.569361
UGX 3890.040978
USD 1.049665
UYU 44.750999
UZS 13467.200332
VES 48.873774
VND 26682.481618
VUV 124.618326
WST 2.930235
XAF 657.15898
XAG 0.034777
XAU 0.0004
XCD 2.836771
XDR 0.803054
XOF 655.517644
XPF 119.331742
YER 262.33747
ZAR 18.932858
ZMK 9448.244693
ZMW 28.950504
ZWL 337.991668
  • CMSC

    0.0578

    24.73

    +0.23%

  • RIO

    0.6300

    62.98

    +1%

  • CMSD

    0.1200

    24.58

    +0.49%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0300

    6.77

    -0.44%

  • GSK

    0.1900

    34.15

    +0.56%

  • BCC

    8.7200

    152.5

    +5.72%

  • BP

    -0.4000

    29.32

    -1.36%

  • SCS

    0.4500

    13.72

    +3.28%

  • BTI

    -0.0500

    37.33

    -0.13%

  • VOD

    0.1800

    8.91

    +2.02%

  • RBGPF

    0.8100

    61

    +1.33%

  • AZN

    0.7700

    66.4

    +1.16%

  • RELX

    -0.1800

    46.57

    -0.39%

  • BCE

    0.2500

    27.02

    +0.93%

  • NGG

    0.1500

    63.26

    +0.24%

  • JRI

    0.1600

    13.37

    +1.2%

Indonesia hunts clues as study suggests Javan tiger may still exist
Indonesia hunts clues as study suggests Javan tiger may still exist / Photo: Iwan Gunadi - AFP

Indonesia hunts clues as study suggests Javan tiger may still exist

Indonesia is hunting for more clues that the extinct Javan tiger may still exist in the wild, a government official said Tuesday, after a new study suggested links between a DNA-tested hair and the big cat.

Text size:

The endemic Javan and Balinese tigers were wiped out in the 1980s and 1940s respectively, leaving only Sumatran tigers remaining in the archipelago nation.

Scientists from Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) along with conservationists discovered genetic traces of the Javan tiger in a single hair found near a West Java village in 2019, according to a study published by Cambridge University Press last week.

"The Environment and Forestry Ministry appreciates the research... there are several actions that we are doing and will do to respond to the results," Satyawan Pudyatmoko, head of conservation at the environment and forestry ministry, told AFP.

He said those measures included setting up camera traps, inviting genetics experts to help authorities conduct further research and tests, and collecting community data.

"If, for example, it is proven that it still exists, it will certainly become a protected animal. It is the obligation of all parties, including the society, to participate in preserving their population," he said.

The tiger hair shared similarities with Sumatran and Bengal tigers but was distinct from other tiger sub-species, the researchers said.

The study said a local resident reported a Javan tiger sighting in 2019 at a plantation in a forest near Sukabumi city in West Java province.

A hair was taken from a fence where the big cat was alleged to have jumped, and footprints and claw marks were found, it said.

"Based on our in-depth interview with (resident) Ripi Yanur Fajar, who saw the tiger, we believe the hair is from a Javan tiger," read the study's abstract.

"Whether the Javan tiger still occurs in the wild needs to be confirmed with further genetic and field studies."

Muhammad Ali Imron, head of WWF Indonesia's Forest and Wildlife Program, told AFP he appreciated the researchers' efforts but said hair samples were "very limited" and needed to be confirmed with more samples and other genetic testing methods.

He also expressed concern the findings were made public because of "a risk" of alerting hunters.

The Javan tiger became extinct because of poaching and increasing conflict with humans, authorities say.

Sumatran tigers -- often targeted by poachers for their body parts -- are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with fewer than 400 believed to be in the wild.

Y.Keller--NZN