Camera traps yield images of rare tigress, cubs

Washington, Jan 8 (IANS) Camera traps deep in the Sumatran jungle have captured first-time images of a rare female tiger and her cubs, giving researchers unique insight into the elusive tiger’s behaviour.
After a month in operation, specially designed video cameras installed by WWF-Indonesia’s researchers seeking to record tigers in the Sumatran jungle caught the mother tiger and her cubs on film as they stopped to sniff and check out the camera trap.

The video camera also captured images of a male Sumatran tiger and its prey, wild boar and deer, as well as many other species such as tapirs, macaques, porcupines and civets.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is operating dozens of infrared-triggered camera traps, in Sumatran province of Raiu, which start shooting once they sense body heat.

They have become an important tool to identify which areas of the forest are used by tigers, and to identify individual animals to monitor the population.

There are as few as 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild and they are under relentless pressure from poaching and clearing of their habitat. After five years of studying tigers using wildlife-activated camera traps set up in the forest, these are the first images of a tiger with offspring.

“We are very concerned though, because the territory of this tigress and its cubs is being rapidly cleared by two global paper companies, palm oil plantations, encroachers, and illegal loggers,” said Karmila Parakkasi, who leads WWF-Indonesia’s tiger team.

The discovery comes as WWF prepares to launch a campaign Feb 14 to coincide with the start of the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese calendar.

“We want to change the course of tiger conservation,” said Mike Baltzer, leader of WWF’s global Tiger Initiative.

“It’s not just about saving the tiger from extinction, but about doubling their number by 2022,” added Baltzer, according to a WWF release.