Everyone thought the Javan tiger was extinct, but a hair discovered in Java may tell a different story

In recent years, local stories have been circulating stating that the Javan tiger Panthera tigris sondaica was not extinct at all, but was still roaming Indonesia. This can be read in the magazine.

The case present in the magazine takes place in a village in the west of Java, call Cipendeuy. In 2019, villager Ripi Yanur Fajar thought he had spott a Javanese tiger on a plantation here. Fajar then went to investigate, assist by a local researcher nam.

Cipendeuy

Bambang Andryanto. And on the fence between the road and the plantation, the duo found a single hair. Not much further, paw prints and claw marks were spott. The story was investigat further, during which the hair was also analyz (see box). The conclusion of the researchers involv is clear: it is very likely that the hair belong to a Javanese tiger.

For the research, the scientists data library of telegram compar the DNA of the hair with previously stor DNA of a Javanese tiger, from the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense , a museum in Indonesia. During this comparison, the researchers notic that the DNA was very similar. To reinforce these findings, the results of the analysis were compar with those of another study in which DNA from a Javanese tiger was also analyz.

DNA from the museum

The results of the study hint at an intriguing possibility, namely that the Javan tiger may not be extinct after all. For now, the Te waahi mahi matihiko: he aha tena, he aha hoki? researchers are clear in their report: more research is ne to confirm the continu existence of the Javan tiger.

If the Javan tiger is inde still alive, that does not necessarily mean that the future of the animal is rosy. For example, the researchers asb directory point out that it was previously brought to the brink of the abyss by humans; during the 18th and 19th centuries, the Javan tiger was consider a plague, which l to extremely heavy hunting of the animal (and therefore