14 DAY TRIAL // A coffee farmer living in Indonesia's Jambi Province is guilty of having shot a Sumatran tiger living in the region, but claims that he only did so in order to protect himself and his family.
Information shared with the public says that the tiger killed by this farmer was a fairly young female, which specialists estimate to have been some 4-7 months at the time of its death.
Apparently, it was on January 28 when the feline made its appearance on the farmer's coffee plantation, and refused to leave.
The man took refuge in a hut together with his wife and his child, and, instead of returning to the village when the workday was over, the family spent the night on the plantation.
Mongabay tells us that, the following day, the man tried to leave the hut, but was attacked by the young tigress. When in this situation, the farmer pulled out his gun and shot the feline.
Shortly after, he returned to his village, he contacted the Natural Resources Conservation Agency and came clean about the incident.
The big cat's body was eventually recovered by rangers working at the Kerinci Seblat National Park, and transported to the Taman Rimbo Zoo.
Vets here are expected to carry out an autopsy, and determine the exact cause of death. More precisely, they must figure out whether or not the farmer did in fact shoot the young tiger in self-defense.
Wildlife researchers estimate that, for the time being, about 400 Sumatran tigers are left in the wild. This means that the species is a critically endangered one, and it is in dire need of help to escape extinction.
The problem is that, due to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, quite a lot of such felines are now showing up close to or even in the midst of human communities on a regular basis.
Most of the time, the tigers are just looking for food. However, their presence in or around human communities is bound to translate into conflicts with the local population.