Farmers living on the borders of tiger reserves in India and Sumatra live in more or less constant fear of attack by tigers and they are often prepared to kill any tigers that threaten their families or any livestock they keep.

But one community in Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, does its bit for tiger conservation by using a tiger tamer who uses prayers and chants to keep tigers at bay.

But the task for Sarwani Sabi, 65, the last known tiger tamer, is becoming increasingly difficult, partly because of his age and partly because the shrinking of boundaries between tigers and humans.

The conflict between humans and wildlife has gotten worse in past decades due to massive deforestation and logging. Sumatra, home to many endangered species like Sumatran tigers and elephants, has seen one of the fastest receding forest cover in recent times and government efforts to save the wild have been dismal.

Less forest means less prey and tigers are more likely to approach human areas looking for food and Sabi uses traditional methods like mantras, prayers and chants to encourage tigers to leave.

Despite the government’s pledge of support for tigers, conservation resources are scarce and tiger tamers are the best conservation methods because without Sabi being there, villagers would have most likely killed the tiger.

Abu Bakar Chekmat, Aceh’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) chief says, “We are facing problems in the form of tigers and elephants. Our resources and funding are limited, especially human resources. Sarwani is the only tamer we have and he’s getting old. We’re lucky he’s still so energetic.”

Tiger tamers have explicit instructions to chase the tigers back into the wild and not capture or kill them.

But with the last of the tamers getting close to his retirement age and human-tiger conflict on the rise, the future of Sumatran tiger seems to be getting bleaker.

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by Pallavi Malhotra