Animal conservationists in Indonesia are on a mission to determine if the Javan tiger, which was officially declared extinct in 2008, is actually still alive. In 2019, five villagers in a remote Indonesian area saw what they thought was a Javan tiger, and followed it around to collect samples from the animal. They were able to grab a few strands of hair that the tiger shed while walking and turned them into the West Java Provincial Conservation Agency for testing. The DNA from the hair was a 97% match to that of a Javan tiger pelt being stored at The Bogor Zoological Museum, sparking debate over whether the animal may still remain in the wild. Government researchers are now launching an extensive project including installing cameras, consulting genetic expertics, and monitoring the Sukabumi forest where the hair was found to hopefully solve the mystery of the Javan tiger.Â
Image via Mongabay News
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