Indonesia seeks more proof that Javan tiger may no longer be extinct
Indonesian conservationists hope to find more evidence that the Javan tiger, a species declared extinct, actually still exists in the wild, an official said.
JAKARTA, Indonesia — With camera traps and extensive DNA sweeps, Indonesian conservationists are hoping to find more evidence that the Javan tiger, a species declared extinct, actually still exists in the wild, an environment ministry official said Tuesday.
Researchers at the National Research and Innovation Agency said in a DNA study published last week that a strand of tiger hair sighted in a West Java village in 2019 matched some characteristics of the tiger, which is native to Indonesia.
The Javan and Bali tigers have been declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the global authority on wildlife extinction risk. Only the Sumatran tiger remains, and it is considered endangered.
“The research has sparked speculation that the Javan tiger is still in the wild,” Satyawan Pudyatmoko, the ministry official who oversees conservation, told Reuters. “We have prepared and will prepare efforts to respond to it.”
Measures include setting camera traps around the area and seeking advice from genetics experts, he added.
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