Tiger tracks near Kampar homes prompt precautions and camera trap plans
Conservation officers in Indonesia's Riau Province are tracking a Sumatran tiger after confirming its footprints near homes and community plantations along the Bangkinang Ring Road in Kampar District. The Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BBKSDA Riau) is preparing to install camera traps to help prevent conflict with residents.
Tracks lead toward university forest
Residents' reports brought officers from the nearest conservation field post to the site, according to Ujang Holisudin, head of BBKSDA Riau's Technical Division. He said on Tuesday, November 3, that the inspection verified the presence of a Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae).
Officers estimated that the tiger was a juvenile based on the size of its footprints, Kompas.com reported, citing Holisudin. The tracks continued into the Kebun Raya, or botanical garden, forest area belonging to Universitas Pahlawan Bangkinang.
The site is surrounded by residential areas and includes university-owned pens for chickens and goats. BBKSDA Riau described the Kebun Raya area as scrubland where the tiger could hide.
Officers are following signs of the critically endangered animal to map its movements. The planned camera traps, to be placed at strategic locations, will help the agency establish how many tigers are present and monitor their movement patterns as part of efforts to reduce human-wildlife conflict.
Residents and campus staff advised to avoid the area
BBKSDA Riau has advised residents and Universitas Pahlawan Bangkinang staff to temporarily stay out of the Kebun Raya area for activities or surveys, according to Kompas.com.
For people elsewhere around the ring road, the agency urged vigilance when outdoors, especially after sunset. Authorities also told residents not to set snares or hunt the protected tiger, warning that either action could injure or kill it.
"We continue to coordinate with village officials and the local government to monitor the area. We strongly urge members of the community to immediately alert authorities if they spot further signs of the tiger's presence," Holisudin said.
Earlier conflict and population estimates
The Kampar discovery comes after a human-tiger conflict in July 2026 in the Kampar Peninsula landscape of Pelalawan Regency. In an October 19 press release, the Ministry of Forestry said BBKSDA Riau had monitored that area using camera traps and a box trap.
A Sumatran tiger entered the box trap on September 8. Initially suspected of being a man-eater, the animal was temporarily housed at the Kasang Kulim conservation institution in Riau. DNA samples were sent to Gadjah Mada University's laboratory for further examination.
At an August 2026 Global Tiger Day event in Jambi, conservation official Hendrimon Syadri estimated that about 300 Sumatran tigers remained in the wild, occupying remaining forest areas from Aceh to Lampung, ANTARA News reported.
Syadri, an official with the Jambi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), also offered India as a comparison at the event. He said the country was home to roughly 3,500 Bengal tigers, representing about 70 percent of the world's total tiger population.