Endangered Sumatran Tiger Wrongly Killed & Hung From Ceiling In Indonesia

The fact that World Wildlife Day 2018’s theme was “Big Cats: Predators Under Threat,” became horrifically sad upon learning the tragic news that one day later a male Sumatran tiger was killed in the Hatupangan village of Batang Natal in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Murdered not by the guns of hunters or poachers, but instead by the hands of villagers who falsely feared that the majestic animal was a supernatural ‘shapeshifter,’ a mythical figure able to change its form or identity at will.

The tiger had been roaming around the village since February but it was on Sunday that villagers decided to follow the tiger back to its lair where it reportedly attacked and seriously injured two people.

Horrifically, once sleeping, the critically endangered tiger was attacked with a spear. The villagers then hung the animal’s body for display from the ceiling of a public hall.

According to authorities, the villagers had been warned by local officials not to kill the endangered animal but, unfortunately, they did anyway.

Sadly, as per The Jakarta Post, the incident is a reminder that “it is not only lack of awareness and a lack of rangers that the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) have to deal with to preserve the endangered Sumatran tiger, but they must also eradicate the siluman superstition.”

The Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoEF) estimates the Sumatran tiger population currently stands at no more than 600.

Please Join The WorldWide Efforts To Save All Tigers From Extinction In The Wild & Consider Making A Contribution to an Amazing Organization Working to Save Them Called, Panthera! CLICK HERE!