Endangered Sumatran Tiger Killed by Indonesian Villagers Fearing it to be a Supernatural 'Shapeshifter'

A male tiger was killed by villagers in North Sumatra, a province of Indonesia on Sunday who believed it to be a supernatural shapeshifter. Villagers thought it was a 'siluman' or shape-shifter according to their superstitious beliefs which have references in the mythology. When the rangers disagreed to kill the tiger, the villagers took matters into their own hands and went ahead. The incident happened in Hatupangan village of Batang Natal subdistrict. It was only later realised that the animal was an endangered Sumatran tiger. Pictures of the dead tiger show it hanging from a public hall ceiling.

The incident has brought forward the pressing issue to preserve endangered animals and the need for awareness among people disdaining superstitions.

The Jakarta Post quoted Batang Natal subdistrict head, Lion Muslim Nasution as saying, "The tiger was sleeping under a resident's stilt house when the people struck him repeatedly in the abdomen with a spear."

Reportedly, the Sumatran tiger is a critically endangered animal and there are fewer than 400 of them remaining in the wild. As per reports, earlier Conservation officials had warned the villagers in Hatupangan not to hurt the animal after it was spotted a few weeks ago. However, villagers paid no heed to the forest officers and thought it was a shapeshifter.

Local conservation agency head Hotmauli Sianturi was quoted as saying, "Unfortunately they would not listen. They insisted on killing the tiger. After killing the animal, the locals hung up its body for display. It's very regrettable."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 06, 2018 08:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).