NEWSLINK: Javan Tiger May Have Been Spotted in Indonesia

A tiger subspecies thought to be extinct for nearly half a century has possibly been spotted again in Indonesia, raising hopes that the animals still exist somewhere on their lush island, reports Jon Emont for the New York Times

One of the nine subspecies of tiger, the Javan tiger was once a dominant predator on the tropical island of Java. In the 18th century, they were so numerous on the island that Dutch colonizers put a bounty on the head of the animals to encourage their killing. Though Javan locals refrained from killing the creatures unless they did harm, as human populations swelled many big cat encounters resulted in human deaths, according to A. Hoogerwerf 's 1970 book Udjung Kulon, The Land of the Last Javan Rhinoceros. The Javan tiger's numbers dwindled over the next two centuries.


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