Superstitious villagers butcher rare Sumatran tiger; thought it was shapeshifter
Brad Hunter
More from Brad Hunter
Published:
March 5, 2018
Updated:
March 5, 2018 3:33 PM EST
This picture taken on March 4, 2018 shows the carcass of a Sumatran tiger hung from a ceiling as villagers gather underneath at Hatupangan village in North Sumatra. Villagers in a remote Indonesian community disemboweled a critically endangered Sumatran tiger and then hung the big cat from a ceiling after it attacked a pair of locals, a conservation official said March 5.GETTY IMAGES
A group of wildly superstitious villagers in Indonesia brutally killed a critically endangered Sumatran tiger.
Villagers feared it was possessed and a shapeshifter.
It was disembowelled and displayed in the community where it was killed.
A probe by an Indonesian wildlife trust revealed several of the animals body parts were missing including: its canine teeth, claws, and skin off its face and tail.
The body parts are frequently used in traditional medicines and sold as artefacts. Experts have called the idea that animal parts are a panacea for impotence and other maladies laughable.
There are only about 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world. They remain the prey of modern day witch doctors. GETTY IMAGES
“We explained to the villagers that the tiger is an endangered animal…but they didn’t like our way of handling this situation,” Hotmauli Sianturi, of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency, told Reuters, adding a trap had been used to try to capture the cat.
“We regret that they killed the tiger. We will prove that its body parts are being traded,” she added.
The tiger had reportedly been roaming Mandailing Natal village in North Sumatra for over a month and had injured one person. Residents wanted rangers to kill it.
The majestic animal is critically endangered with just 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world.
The big cat isn’t the only endangered animal that’s been targeted by locals on Borneo. In two separate incidents this year, an orangutan was decapitated and another had been shot more than 130 times with an air rifle.
Two people were arrested in the orangutan attacks.
Superstitious villagers butcher rare Sumatran tiger; thought it was shapeshifter | Toronto Sun
Brad Hunter
More from Brad Hunter
Published:
March 5, 2018
Updated:
March 5, 2018 3:33 PM EST
This picture taken on March 4, 2018 shows the carcass of a Sumatran tiger hung from a ceiling as villagers gather underneath at Hatupangan village in North Sumatra. Villagers in a remote Indonesian community disemboweled a critically endangered Sumatran tiger and then hung the big cat from a ceiling after it attacked a pair of locals, a conservation official said March 5.GETTY IMAGES
A group of wildly superstitious villagers in Indonesia brutally killed a critically endangered Sumatran tiger.
Villagers feared it was possessed and a shapeshifter.
It was disembowelled and displayed in the community where it was killed.
A probe by an Indonesian wildlife trust revealed several of the animals body parts were missing including: its canine teeth, claws, and skin off its face and tail.
The body parts are frequently used in traditional medicines and sold as artefacts. Experts have called the idea that animal parts are a panacea for impotence and other maladies laughable.
There are only about 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world. They remain the prey of modern day witch doctors. GETTY IMAGES
“We explained to the villagers that the tiger is an endangered animal…but they didn’t like our way of handling this situation,” Hotmauli Sianturi, of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency, told Reuters, adding a trap had been used to try to capture the cat.
“We regret that they killed the tiger. We will prove that its body parts are being traded,” she added.
The tiger had reportedly been roaming Mandailing Natal village in North Sumatra for over a month and had injured one person. Residents wanted rangers to kill it.
The majestic animal is critically endangered with just 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world.
The big cat isn’t the only endangered animal that’s been targeted by locals on Borneo. In two separate incidents this year, an orangutan was decapitated and another had been shot more than 130 times with an air rifle.
Two people were arrested in the orangutan attacks.

Superstitious villagers butcher rare Sumatran tiger; thought it was shapeshifter | Toronto Sun