Pekanbaru, Riau, (Antarariau.com) - The frequent forest fires in the Riau province could endanger protected animals such as elephants and tigers, spokesperson of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), for Riau, Syamsidar, said here Monday.
"One impact of the forest fire is the shrinking habitat of animals. It makes the conflict between humans and the protected animals more and more intense," he said.
According to him, if the natural habitat areas continued to decline, the animals will be forced out of the forest.
Syamsidar explained that the shrinking of the natural habitats of the animals is a result of over utilization of land for plantations and industrial plant forests.
"For the last 17 years, the forest areas have been burnt and turned into plantation sites and used for industrial plant forest," he said.
Data obtained by the WWF shows that during 2012 to 2014, 43 cases of illegal hunting of Sumatran elephants were recorded in Riau.
Of these, 15 cases have not been revealed. In 2013, the number was 14 cases, of which 13 occurred in the Tesso Nilo National Park, Riau. In 2014, 14 cases of elephant hunting have been detected so far.
Syamsidar said that the estimated population of elephants in 2009 was between 150 and 200.
The WWF has also been trying to conduct a census of the population of Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) since 2004, but has not been able to collect the exact number. In 1994, the population was estimated to be about 400.
The Tiger Summit 2010 in St. Petersburg, Russia estimated that the population of tigers in the world was less than 3,200.
Forest Fire Endangers Protected Animals: Activist
