Indonesia: Cry of the Tiger

It’s a question that should have a straightforward answer. Are critically endangered Sumatran Tigers safer in poacher-infested jungles that are being razed for agriculture and consumed by development or are they safer in the care of an Indonesian zoo? If that zoo is Java’s Surabaya Zoo then it’s a very close call. The zoo was once something of a wildlife wonderland, now it’s more of a house of horrors. And the plight of the resident Sumatran Tigers in particular raises pressing questions about whether or not Indonesia cares deeply enough for its threatened indigenous creatures, inside zoos and in the wild.