Padang, W Sumatera (ANTARA News) - The Sumatran tiger is almost extinct in West Sumatra as only one has remained alive in a 300-hectare habitat, a provincial nature conservation official said.

"The tiger population has decreased drastically because of the conflict between tigers and humans , hunting activity and the clearing of forests for farming and plantation projects," Indra Arinal, head of the West Sumatra branch of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), said here on Saturday.

Tigers react to humans because their habitat is being fragmented by human activity to start farms, palm oil and chocolate plantations, he added.

"The shrinking of tigers` habitat has triggered the conflicts between animals and people living near forests," Arinal said.

According to BKSDA`s observations, three other animals, beside the tiger, had come under threat of extinction in West Sumatra in 2008. They are the Sematran bear, Sumatran tapir and the Sumatran turtle.
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