West Lampung. A villager was discovered dead in a plantation in Lampung province early on Thursday with police suspecting a Sumatran tiger attack as the cause of his death.

The attack allegedly occurred a day before the dismembered body of 28-year-old Sahri was found in the Bandar Negeri Suoh district, Lampung, at the southern tip of Sumatra Island. This marks the second fatal attack on humans by a Sumatran tiger in the area within the past two weeks.

Family members reported that Sahri left the house on Wednesday to work at the plantation but did not return after sunset. A search by relatives uncovered his backpack sprayer but not Sahri.

Upon receiving a missing person report, the police dispatched a search team, discovering Sahri’s body about 300 meters from his plantation the following morning.

“After examination, the medical center in Bandar Negeri Suoh confirmed that the death was caused by a tiger attack,” local police officer Juherdi Sumandi said.

As news spread, residents in two districts around the scene expressed concerns about future attacks. Two weeks earlier, a villager named Gunarso, 47, was also fatally attacked by a tiger.

Police are collaborating with the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) to set a trap, aiming to safely capture the endangered creature and relocate it to the Dharmasraya Sumatran Tiger Rehabilitation Center in the nearby province of West Sumatra.

Established in 2017, the sanctuary aims to protect Sumatran tigers from threats such as poaching, habitat loss due to human settlement, and agricultural expansion.

It is estimated that fewer than 600 Sumatran tigers currently live in the wild.

Earlier this month, wildlife officials successfully trapped two Sumatran tigers in Aceh and West Sumatra, relocating them to the sanctuary.