The
Javanese tiger (Pantheratigrissondaica) may have been declared to extinct by
the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1994, but recently clues discovered by a
researcher are believed to be evidence of the tiger’s existence, especially in
the forests of Central Java’s Muria mountain range.
Covering
an area of nearly 70,000 hectares, the mountain range encompasses the three
neighboring regencies of Jepara, Kudus and Pati.
“I
believe the animals are still alive in the mountain range,” Javanese tiger
researcher DidikRaharyono, 42, told The Jakarta Post, recently.
A
biologist at GadjahMada University in Yogyakarta, Didik said that his belief
was based on his 14 years of research and efforts to look for evidence of the
Javanese tiger in the area.
The
latest evidence, he said, was a 5x6 centimeter piece of skin he believed to
have come from a Javanese tiger.
He
said he had obtained the piece from Muali, a staffer at the Pati Natural
Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA).
Muali,
who is also the head of the Clereng Natural Preserve Resort, said he got the
skin from a trader of antique goods at a traditional market in Kudus. The
trader bought the skin from a hunter who was said to have killed the animal in
the Muria mountain range’s Rahtawusubdistrict in 2008.
Yet,
he said, further examination was needed to make sure the skin was really that
of a Javanese tiger and not of a Sumatran tiger, which had had similar stripes.
“That
is why I handed over the skin to Didik for further testing,” said Muali, adding
that locals had often reported that they sighted Javanese tigers in the
mountain range area.
Didik,
who was 90 percent sure that the sample had come from a Javanese tiger, said
that in 2000, a Javanese tiger was found dead in Colo, Kudus, after eating a
goat carcass that had been poisoned by an employee of the local tourism agency. Didik also said he
found traces of the carnivore in the mountain range in 1998.
Didik
said that based on testimony by locals, there might be a change in the physical
appearance of the Javanese tiger found in Muria mountain range.
Scientific
notes describe Javanese tigers as bigger than Sumatran tigers
(Pantheratigrissumatrae), but locals who claimed to have spotted the animal in
the Muria area said that it was small but had big feet.“This could be the
result of long-distance walks, because of the hilly habitat,” Didik said.
He
said the Javanese tigers had originally lived in lowland habitats, but that the
conversion of these areas had pushed the tigers into mountainous areas.
Based
on his research, Didik said that the Muria mountain range was not the only site
where traces of Javanese tigers were found. He said he previously found
evidence that the animals also live in the MeruBetiri and GunungRaung National
Parks in East Java.
Different
evidence was also reported by activists at the Muria Research Center, an
environmental NGO.
“We
found the feces of a Javanese tiger while hiking in the Muria range from July
to August 2011, when we were heading to the Termulus Peak to be precise,”
activist Imam Khanafi said.
Pantheratigrissondaica
•
Inhabited the Indonesian island of Java
•
Small compared to other subspecies of the Asian mainland, but larger in size
than Bali tigers
•
Males weighed between 100 and 140 kg with a body length of 200 to 245 cm
•
Females were smaller than males and weighed between 75 and 115 kg on average
•
Their nose was long and narrow, occipital plane remarkably narrow and
carnassials relatively long.
•
Had long and thin stripes, which were slightly more numerous than the Sumatran
tiger
•
Preyed on deer, wild boar, water fowl and reptiles
From
various sources
Sumber
:http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/06/02/javanese-tiger-believed-still-existence.html
Comment :
I think the news that the Javanese tigers are
believed to survive is a good news. This means that a typical animal of Java is
still there and has not been declared extinct as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in
1994. Of the evidence has been found, the more convinced that Sumatran tigers still
alive. Javanese tigers researchers believe 90% of the animals still live in the
Moria Moiuntain.
The latest evidence is a 5x6 inch piece of tiger skin is believed to originate from
the Javanese tiger, Sumatran tiger instead. Previous evidence has been found traces
of animal karnifora and testimony by local residents. In addition to Mount Muria,
other evidence found in the roar of Mount Meru Betiri and National Parks in East
Java.
Different evidence was also reported by activists in the Muria Research Center,
an environmental NGO. They say never find time Javan Tiger Kotora hiking in Kisara
Muria from July to August 2011 when heading to the top termulus. It is
increasingly convinced that the Javanese tiger is still alive.
