Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Trying to Save Wild Tigers by Rehabilitating Them

BALIMBING, Indonesia — The two wild Sumatran tigers, held in large, adjoining cages here, had killed at least eight people between them.

They growled ferociously, lunged at a man outside, ran in circles inside the cages and slammed against the walls, their eyes radiating a fierceness absent in zoo tigers. But if all goes well, one of them eventually will be reintroduced into the wild.

In the only one of two such experiments in the world, tiger experts here have begun rehabilitating and releasing tigers that have attacked humans and livestock elsewhere on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra. As a growing human population and economic development keep squeezing tigers out of their remaining habitats, clashes are increasing with deadly frequency. Last year, tigers killed at least nine people in Sumatra, mostly illegal loggers pushing ever deeper into previously untouched forest.
Read the rest here

For the record, I think this is nuts. I'm all for saving endangered species. But man eating tigers being released again? Ummmm NO.

2 comments:

Anastasia Theodoridis said...

This licensed wildlife rehabilitator agrees with you. Nuts.

Teena said...

Please note the words "illegal logging." Serves them (the loggers) right, frankly. We may be the top creature in creation, but God made other things too, and I think He wants them to have habitat as well. Perhaps our feline friends can chew on a few more greedy humans-can we import them to Wall Street? Only half joking.