Endangered Tiger Cubs Filmed Playing In Indonesian Forests Slated To Be Cut Down (VIDEO)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Video cameras captured 12 critically endangered Sumatran tigers, including mothers with their cubs, in Indonesian forests slated to be cut down, wildlife activists said Monday.

One of the videos shows three young cubs playfully chasing a leaf. Another, triggered by an infrared sensor, recorded giant cats strolling across a clearing at night.

Sumatran Tigers on Camera Trap from WWF on Vimeo.

Sumatran tigers are on the brink of extinction because of the destruction of forests, poaching and clashes with humans.

Their numbers have dwindled to about 400 from 1,000 in the 1970s, according to the World Wildlife Fund, which set up the cameras in Riau and Jambi provinces just three months ago.

Karmila Parakkasi, who heads the group's tiger research team on Sumatra island, said capturing a dozen cats in such a short period is astonishing.

"What's unclear is whether we found so many tigers because we're getting better at locating our cameras or because the tigers' habitat is shrinking so rapidly here that they are being forced into sharing smaller and smaller bits of forests," he said.

The cameras were set up in a corridor – not officially protected by the government – between the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park and Bukit Rimbang Baling Wildlife Sanctuary.

The WWF said a company that supplies wood for Asia Pulp and Paper of Sinar Mas Group is awaiting permits from the government to clear the area and other nearby forests.

Comments

[kkmousse]

12:57 PM on 05/12/2011

Wood has a value. I live in Maine and they cut the wood for the mills. The hardwoods have low value because they can not be grown and harvested quickly like th soft woods used for paper.
So cleared woods are planted with softwood trees.
The hardwood forest are gone.
I like to collect maple sap for syrup. It takes 20 years for the tree to grow, so you can collect the sap. It takes many years to grow a oak tree large enough to be harvested for lumber goods.
So it is more profitable to grow soft woods. If you happen to have large hardwood trees you can have them cut for a spicific company that used the wood to make things like furniture, but you have to shop around. When you have your property cut the money is paid in a % with the cutter getting the bigger share. The landowner does not get that much in the end.
So What exactly are those people in Sumatra getting for their wood.
Once you have stripped away the trees the topsoil goes with it. It takes many years to make a forest and a long time to grow it back, not in your lifetime will you see it back to the way it was. Unless you plant quick growing trees that are not usefull for much as the original.

[Donns]

12:36 PM on 05/12/2011

Which produces the most profits, the Tigers or the wood? That's who will win.

[mokvaw]

12:59 AM on 05/12/2011

Cool cats. They live and belong in the wild. Some places should be saved for them.

[LeFlaneur]

12:20 AM on 05/12/2011

People want wood and palm oil, so everything else has to die. If we cared about tigers as much as we cared about wood and palm oil, they would live. But we don't. So they won't.

[SukiTheCat]

08:18 AM on 05/11/2011

tragic. I guess humans will not stop unless we've destroyed every bit of earth on this planet and kill off all it's animals. we really are the worse kind of animals

[Evil Twin Rove]

10:58 AM on 05/11/2011

and it is all because of money... the root of all that is evil

[catlady1954]

02:21 AM on 05/12/2011

I feel we are kindred spirits. I just told my husband the same thing a few weeks ago. Fanned.

[Galong]

07:42 AM on 05/11/2011

I just emailed to cancel my vacation to Sumatra because of this. Displacing (killing?) tiger over paper, really? Paper could easily be grown elsewhere using more efficient plants such as hemp.

The touristic value of wild Sumatran Tigers has to be greater than a monocultural wasteland of lined-up trees.

What backwards thinking. They almost sound like they could be American businessmen.

[Caitlin Witte]

12:09 PM on 05/10/2011

Every time we lose a species because of habitat destruction we are selling off another piece of our soul. If tigers, big charismatic mammals aren't worth sacrificing a few thousand acres of forest for, what hope do the rest of the species have? I don't understand what's wrong with the world. I can't even read about this without wanting to cry.

[Stephen G Ford]

04:23 PM on 05/10/2011

"what hope do the rest of the species have?"
Well... I don't know about the REST of the planet... but here in the states we are pretty much CONVINCED that since GOD gave us "Dominion" over all creation... we can do whatever we want... and if we SCREW THINGS UP too badly... it's gonna be OK... we'll be RESCUED because JESUS is comin' SOON!!! *WHISPERS* Don't as WHEN... we can't TELL YOU!
I know... It's a BAD attitude... but it's MINE! Every day people give me MORE REASON to prefer animals!

[csuciadams]

11:43 AM on 05/10/2011

Can't we just use some of those replanted forests? Why does this prestine old growth forest have to be sacrificed? This is horrible! Save the Tigers! Save this planet!

[Aleks Hunter]

10:40 AM on 05/10/2011

It has taken us thousands of years to cut down 53% of the worlds forests. WHy are we in such a rush to cut down the remaining 47%. Tell us conservatives, when will you see the need for conservation? What percentage of the worlds forests do we absolutely need to leave intact as forest ecosystem?

[baileywick]

06:09 PM on 05/10/2011

It is incredible that "conservative" and "conservation" are diametrically opposed.

[prettyfnliberal]

09:33 AM on 05/10/2011

HEMP DAMMIT.
HEMP COULD SAVE ALL OUR LIVES.

[baileywick]

06:11 PM on 05/10/2011

In many manny meny nemy anym wayays. (cough cough)

[bcmom]

09:12 AM on 05/10/2011

What in the he'll is wrong with the world? We are killing ourselves quickly now.

[baileywick]

06:11 PM on 05/10/2011

Greed is the new patriotism. Aren't you paying attention to Fox?

[SilentSolidarity]

03:19 AM on 05/10/2011

There are only 3,000 tigers left. We are losing 200 every year due to illegal animal trade. If we continue that way, all tigers will be extinct by 2025. Our grandchildren will know tigers only from videos, and photos. Yeah, I can't wait for that day... :(

[JenniferAllen8319]

02:08 AM on 05/10/2011

While the whole world is engrossed with curbing terrorism and scheming 'righteous' plots against terrorists...has anyone given thought that we ourselves are terrorists in our own way?...murdering the environment and wildlife...who are we answerable to for the actions we take that lead to the death of ecosystems and wildlife species? if only we were all accountable only to ourselves...questions like this would never arise!

[Yu Li Ooi]

08:35 PM on 05/09/2011

These tigers have just as much right to the land as us. They however need it more as it is their habitat & their source of survival. Can we humans do without deforestation? Yes we can. What else more is there to say?

[Robco1]

06:51 PM on 05/09/2011

Rainforest Action Network came out with a study linking baby board books with clearcutting of Indonesian rainforests. You can check out their guide of rainforest-safe baby books here: http://ran.org/content/make-sure-your-shopping-rainforest-safe

Note of disclosure, my company makes two of the books listed.