A rare and encouraging sight emerged from the forests of Way Kambas National Park (TNWK), East Lampung, after a camera trap recorded a Sumatran tiger mother walking with her three cubs. The footage, obtained during routine wildlife monitoring, is being hailed as an important indication that this critically endangered species is still reproducing in the wild.
The video shows one cub moving swiftly across the forest floor, followed closely by the mother. Moments later, two more cubs appear, each displaying healthy and agile movements. Their good condition suggests that the habitat inside TNWK remains suitable for supporting natural reproduction. Head of TNWK, MHD Zaidi, confirmed kompas.com on Friday, November 28, 2025 the discovery and described it as a “significant milestone” in current conservation efforts, highlighting that ongoing habitat protection and intensified patrolling are starting to yield visible results.
Way Kambas is considered one of the last strongholds of the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae). But the positive news comes amid continuing threats to the species’ survival. Across Sumatra, tiger populations are increasingly fragmented due to illegal hunting, habitat loss, shrinking prey availability, and expanding human activity around protected areas.
Population Fewer Than 20 Individuals
Data from Forum Harimau Kita (FHK), an established coalition of tiger conservation organizations, reveals that many tiger habitats on the island are shrinking. Large forest landscapes may still support populations of several dozen tigers, but smaller fragmented forest patches now hold fewer than 20 individuals — a dangerously low number for long-term survival. This fragmentation disrupts movement, reduces opportunities for mating, and raises the risk of genetic bottlenecks.
In Kerinci Seblat National Park (TNKS), one of the most important remaining tiger habitats, recent 2025 assessments estimate there are still around 115–130 tigers. Meanwhile, in Bengkulu Province, monitoring efforts using camera traps in 2025 detected at least 42 individual tigers across several forest landscapes — proof that the species persists but remains scattered and vulnerable.
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Despite these patches of hope, threats continue to escalate. Throughout 2025, multiple cases of Sumatran tiger deaths were recorded, including animals killed after being caught in wire snares intended for wild boar. Observers note that many of these deaths are preventable. Enforcement is strengthening, especially after Indonesia’s conservation law was revised in 2024, but penalties remain insufficient to deter hunters or wildlife traffickers from targeting tigers for their skins and body parts.
Iding Achmad Haidir, Chair of Forum Harimau Kita, warned that habitat fragmentation remains the most pressing threat. When forest corridors disappear, he explained, tigers lose their ability to disperse, maintain territorial stability, and breed successfully. Reduced numbers of breeding females in isolated patches can also trigger long-term reproductive failure.
“Conservation is not just about protecting one species,” Haidir emphasized. “It’s about preserving the entire ecosystem. Tigers are apex predators — when they disappear, the whole forest begins to lose its balance.”
Animal Trafficking
A new global analysis has revealed an alarming surge in illegal tiger trafficking, with law-enforcement agencies around the world confiscating the equivalent of nine tigers every month between 2020 and mid-2025. The findings come from a 25-year investigation by TRAFFIC, the global wildlife-trade monitoring network, which shows that demand for whole tigers, their skins, bones, and other body parts continues to fuel a sophisticated and persistent criminal industry.
The report, Beyond Skin and Bones: A 25-Year Analysis of Tiger Seizures, compiles data from more than 2,500 seizure incidents reported between 2000 and June 2025, representing at least 3,808 individual tigers. Over the years, the nature of the trade has evolved. What was once dominated by parts and derivatives is now increasingly characterized by the trafficking of whole animals—an indication of changing consumer preferences and growing involvement of captive-breeding facilities.
Among the countries highlighted in the report, Indonesia emerges as a significant hotspot, particularly for wild-sourced Sumatran tigers. The archipelago is home to one of the world’s most critically endangered tiger subspecies, with estimates suggesting that fewer than 600 remain in the wild. Yet Indonesia continues to record recurring seizures involving skins, skulls, bones, canines, and in some cases, entire tiger carcasses. (Wage Erlangga)
