Wounded Sumatran Tiger To Undergo Surgery

Bengkulu, Sumatra, Jan 12 (ANTARA) - The Bengkulu Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) will send a wounded Sumatran tiger ((Pantera Tigris Sumatrae) to Bogor, West Java, for surgery. "We are afraid that if the surgery is conducted in Bengkulu, the tiger`s condition will even become more critical because of our limited medical equipment and knowhow ," Bengkulu BKSDA Chairman Amon Zamora said here on Thursday. The tiger would be flown from Bengkulu`s Fatmawati Soekarno airport to Jakarta and further transported by car to Bogor for surgery. Its condition was currently critical although it was still able to eat and drink. Supartono, the head of the Bengkulu BKSDA`s administration section, said the tiger was found in a trap inside Gedang Hulu Lais protected forest, near the border of the Bukit Daun protected forest. After it had run into the trap, unknown people had apparently tried to kill the 75-kg tiger with spears. Local conservationists found six spears at the scene but luckily the tiger survived although it was seriously injured. Supartono estimated the tiger had been in the trap for four days before it was finally rescued and evacuated by several forest rangers and police officers.