Tsunamis & Tigers - We visited this village

Soon after we arrived at PATEK we choppered into these villages to assess needs. Later our volunteers rode open trucks into the area loaded with aid supplies. I rode a borrowed trail bike through the mountains near Rantau Sabon several times and often wondered about tigers.

Antara News Agency just published this story:

Sumatran Tigers Attacking Villagers' Cattle in Aceh

Banda Aceh, (ANTARA News) - Farmers in Ratau Sabon and SP-V Patek villages, Aceh Jaya district, are now restless and scared to go to their rice fields in recent days as Sumatran tigers are often leave their habitat for villagers` resettlement to attack their cattle.

At least three head of cattle have been caught by roaming tigers in Rantau Sabon village, villagers said there on Sunday (2/12).

The two villages are located some 12 from the Sampoiniet sub-disgtrict town, or about 130 km from the provincial capital of Banda Aceh. They are near to a palm oil plantation of PT Tiga mitra, which has been neglected for about five years.

Ridwan Adnan, one of the villagers, said that the locals often encountered the tigers when they went to their farm lands or went home from working.

"One of the tigers has a handicaped front leg. The bodies of the tigers are about two meters long," he said.

"We are scared and afraid of the repeat of an incident when three villagers were killed by tigers` attacks in 1992," he said.

He explained that in the 1992 incident villagers only found the victims` bones as other parts of their bodies were eaten up by the tigers.(*)