Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – The Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA Riau) rescued a female Sumatran tiger that had been severely wounded by a poacher's snare at a pulp plantation in Pelalawan regency, Riau on Sunday.
The agency received a report on the snared tiger from the PT Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP) Estate Meranti on Saturday afternoon, after the company's field officers found the tiger on the outskirts of the plantation.
"The field officers [of RAPP] kept an eye on the tiger's condition from a safe distance," BKSDA Riau head Suharyono said on Monday.
The agency dispatched a rescue team, which included medical personnel, at 7 p.m.
After traveling over land and water for more than two hours, the team joined the field officers of Region I section of BKSDA Riau and the workers of RAPP at the RAPP office.
"That night, the team prepared to carry out an evacuation the next morning," Suharyono said.
The team arrived at the tiger's location at 12:30 p.m. "They immediately anesthetized the tiger, cut the wire trap ensnaring the tiger's leg and gave first aid to the open wound on the tiger's right front leg," said Suharyono.
The female tiger is 1.7 meters long and is estimated to be between 3 and 5 years old.
"We estimated that the tiger had been trapped for three days as its wounds are pretty severe. Therefore, we decided to evacuate the tiger [instead of releasing the animal]," he said.
The tiger was sent to be treated at the Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center (PRHSD) in Dharmasraya regency, West Sumatra. (aly)