Wild tiger
kills Indonesian man
JAKARTA (AFP) - – An Indonesian man was killed when a rare Sumatran
tiger dragged him from a forest hut, broke his neck and shattered
his skull before his friends could save him, a conservation
official said Monday.
The victim, 25, died from his injuries after the attack on Sunday
night at Berbak National Park in Jambi province, Sumatra island,
provincial conservation agency head Didi Wuryanto told AFP.
"A Sumatran tiger went into the makeshift hut while they were
asleep and dragged one of the men out. There was a struggle but the
tiger managed to break the victim's neck and bit the back of his
head, leaving a hole," he said.
"His friends heard screaming but when they got to him it was too
late. The tiger was gone and their friend was dead."
Authorities are investigating why the men camped overnight in a
forest where tigers are known to roam, he added.
Human-animal conflicts are a rising problem as people encroach on
wildlife habitats in Indonesia, an archipelago with some of the
world's largest remaining tropical forests.
There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild,
according to conservationists, but Wuryanto said there were up to
30 human deaths attributed to tiger attacks last year.
