The Java Tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica)

[phatio]

Recently I went hiking to Argupuro mountain located in east java. A beautiful mountain covered with thick jungle. 
honestly, I wasn't expecting to saw healthy tropical rainforests here in Java, considering Java as the world's most populous island. 
If you ask what did ancient javan jungle look like? well i guess this place is the answer. 
according to forest officer, there are healthy wildlife populations still living in there such as deers, wild boars, monkeys, gibbons etc. 
when i asked him what kind of predator He has ever met, he said snakes, leopard (spotted and black) and tiger. wait,.. tiger? javan tiger? 
yes. he said confidently. in fact only a week ago he saw the striped cat drinking from a lake. what a nice surprise. 

I think he is a well educated man who can recognize the difference between the spotted and striped cat, so i take his word seriously. 
furthermore he told me there is a valley, deep beneath the jungle where animals often seen gathered together.
in this unnamed place he saw a wild boar being chased by three striped lions. wild lions in the javan jungle? It doesn't make sense.
maybe he saw an adult male javan tiger with short manes? well It's just my guess. 
for your information, this is the second report of encounter with striped lion from east java. 
the first one coming from neighbouring mountains in Jember back in 2012. coincidence? i dont know. 
one thing for sure that this animal is not a leopard, because the witness said the striped lion is much larger than the sumatran tiger he saw in the zoo.
 
The most interesting part is, according to mr. Didik, the Java tiger researcher, he heard a story from an old hunting man in this area that before the WW II, 
the Dutch, fascinated by the beauty of this landscape, wants to make Argopuro as an Africa of Java. 
They already brought lions here when the Japanese arrived and then everything becomes chaos.
 not sure what happen to the lions maybe they die of starvation or maybe the Dutch released them into the wild. Nobody Knows.

Ok enough of the hearsay now lets get back to Javan tiger. 
Thanks to the internet, the report of sightings are increasing. Not only from the news, but now the witnesses themself can easily write on internet. 
in my opinion, compared to other extinct tiger (Caspian and Bali tiger) I'm pretty optimistic one day we can catch one specimen alive. I hope so.
here are some pictures from my trip to Argopuro mountain.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

this place could be a safe haven for tigers don't you think? Reply