A tiger belonging to a rare species in the remote jungles of Indonesia has been destroying surveillance cameras, the environmental group WWF says.
WWF had been puzzled by how several heat-sensitive photo traps had been destroyed after a very rare Sumatran tiger was photographed passing by.
The WWF says the cat was frightened by the camera's flash and attacked the cameras, destroying them.
Fewer than 500 of the big cats are estimated to be left in the wild.
Loggers, poachers and other wildlife have destroyed cameras in the past, a WWF spokesman said, but this was the first time the vandal had been positively identified.
WWF had set up the cameras to observe life in the deep jungles of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Posted by Fadil Aziz on December 15, 2006 at 10:08 AM
Their habitat has been in very serious pressure although they mostly live in national park. Several years ago villagers who live in the border raided and burnt the WWF guesthouse in Kerinci Seblat NP, one of the biggest and most important NP in Sumatra and the country after the park rangers arrested some villagers (I don't exactly remember whether they conducted illegal logging, or poaching). Since then the WWF stopped their operation in the area. I hope this news indicate that they already come back.
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1 repliesFrom: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6176561.stm