| English Name | Latine Name | Lokation |
|---|---|---|
| Sumatran Tiger | Panthera tigris sumatrae | Aceh Utara, Sumatra, Indonesia |
That day, the 5th day of data collection for 4 taxa in the North Aceh region, and I collected data for Avifauna. We always start the journey for data collection at 6 am from our overnight camp. That day the weather was very bright and quite hot, but the team was starting to get tired because they had been in the field for days. Our camp was located in a plantation that directly borders the edge of the Ulu Masein forest.
After a long journey, we collected quite a lot of data such as birds, squirrels, monkeys, lizards and several types of snakes. We arrived at the edge of a river that was quite wide, about 15 meters, but the water was not shallow and the river was not deep either, only 20 cm.
Suddenly we heard the sound of groaning and friction of something kepohan several times on the right side of the river, quite far but clearly audible. We argued about the sound, some said it was the sound of the wind, some said it was the sound of a bird's flapping wings, but I assumed it was the sound of an elephant whose position was quite far from us. After arguing for a while we continued along the river towards the upstream.
15 minutes walking I saw on the edge of the river on the sand clearly printed large footprints in the form of palms and 4 toes. I immediately concluded that it was the footprint of the Sumatran Tiger, a mysterious animal that is currently threatened with extinction due to high hunting and habitat loss. I immediately called the team and immediately took the data needed such as photos, coordinates, and measurements.
Not far from the discovery of the tiger tracks we took a break for lunch. We took a break at the intersection of three river branches, because the position was flat and quite high even though it was on the edge of the river. There we rested for almost an hour to restore stamina and prepare a plan to continue the journey.
Because the break was quite long, I tried to conduct an operation of the surrounding area and I chose the river branch to our left. There was a very wide plain there but I found tiger tracks again. However, this time I saw small tracks following the larger tracks. My conclusion is that the tracks we found were probably females with 2 cubs who were crossing like us. The tracks were still very clearly visible assuming they were new tracks.
I returned to where the team was resting and informed the tiger tracks that we had just found. We also discussed about the tiger tracks that I found, which might be new tracks because the condition of the tracks was very well printed. Our findings made us very happy, because we still found signs of an almost extinct animal and they were carrying their young.
In the midst of our joy, suddenly a very loud sound "Krueeeeeeeng" was heard which I guessed was less than 20 m behind us. Everyone was shocked, and the atmosphere turned into panic. One of the team members shouted "ELEPHANT" which added to the panic. Fortunately, because the survey team of 4 taxa were experienced people, they did not run away but immediately formed a group.
We immediately increased our vigilance and immediately packed up the equipment we were carrying. We decided to return and not continue our journey. We walked with high alertness, afraid that the elephant that gave a warning sound would suddenly attack us. Thankfully, the elephant did not try to chase us. After walking more than 100 m, we were relieved, because we were able to get away safely.
That is one of my thoughts when observing birds in the dense forests of Sumatra. Hopefully this story can entertain friends who read it.
| Camera | Lens |
|---|---|
| Oppo A95 | - |