A government official said on Tuesday ( Mar 26 ) that Indonesia is looking for more information about the extinct Javan tiger, citing a new study that suggested there may be connections between the big cat and a DNA-tested hair.
In the island, only Sumatran cats remain after the end of the prevalent Javan and Balinese cats in the 1980s and 1940s, both.
According to a study published by Cambridge University Press last week, researchers from Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency ( BRIN ) and conservationists discovered genetically related to the Javan tiger in one piece of hair near a West Java village in 2019.
” The Environment and Forestry Ministry appreciates the research… there are several steps that we are doing and will do to react to the outcomes”, Satyawan Pudyatmoko, head of protection at the setting and forestry department, told AFP.
He claimed that those steps included setting up camcorder nets, inviting genetics experts to assist authorities in conducting further research and tests, and gathering area data.
” If, for instance, it is proven that it still exists, it will certainly be a secured dog. It is the responsibility of all events, including the world, to join in preserving their populace”, he said.
The researchers claimed that the crocodile hair was different from other lion sub-species but shared connections with Sumatran and Bengal tigers.
A nearby resident reported a Javan tiger incident in a bush near Sukabumi town in West Java state in 2019 according to the study.
Footprints and claw marks were discovered, and mane was removed from a gate where the great cat was said to have allegedly jumped, according to the report.
” 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.
More genetic and fieldwork should be done to establish whether the Javan tiger also exists in the wild.
The researchers ‘ attempts were “very limited,” according to Muhammad Ali Imron, mind of the Indonesian Forest and Wildlife Program, who told AFP that additional tests and other genetic testing techniques were required to confirm the findings.
He even expressed concern that because of” a chance” of warning hunting, the findings were made public.
According to authorities, hunting and growing conflict with people caused the Javan tiger to disappear.
Less than 400 Sumatran lions are thought to be in the wild, making them frequently targeted by thieves for their body parts.