Tiger attacks two people in five days as soldiers called in to hunt down big cat

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The Sumatran tiger is critically endangered - with experts fearing there are only 400 left in the wild (Image: Getty Images)
The Sumatran tiger is critically endangered - with experts fearing there are only 400 left in the wild (Image: Getty Images)

Soldiers have been called out to hunt down a Sumatran tiger that attacked and hurt two farmers after officials called for their capture.

The most-recent attack took place at around 2am (7pm GMT Tuesday) in a protected forest reserve in Indonesia's Aceh province on the northern tip of Sumatra.

The species is targeted by poachers for its body parts and bones - which are used in modern tonics and folk remedies. Their skin is also seen as a status symbol in some parts of Asia.

They're considered critically-endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 400 thought to still be in the wild.

A surge in conflict with humans and rampant deforestation has reduced their natural habitat.

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Tiger attacks two people in five days as soldiers called in to hunt down big catSoldiers, rangers and conservation officials went into the forest to find the tiger (Getty Images)

Both victims sustained serious injuries to their heads, hands and feet, according to local reports.

Head of the Aceh conservation agency Agus Rianto said they plan to "rescue and relocate" the creature.

He added that farmers had been working inside the protected area, illegally, at the time of the maulings.

Following another attack on Saturday, soldiers and rangers were sent out into the forest to search for a tiger that mauled four locals on Saturday.

One person was left with critical injuries.

It's currently unknown whether the attacks were by the same tiger.

Last year, a Russian logger died after being mauled by a tiger in a remote forest when he left his cabin to visit the toilet during the night.

Tiger attacks two people in five days as soldiers called in to hunt down big catA farmer plants rice seeds at a paddy field in Samahani in Indonesia's Aceh province on January 25 (AFP via Getty Images)

Mikhail Shabaldin, 41, is believed to have been “attacked and wounded” by the wild beast after the ambush by an Amur - or Siberian - tiger, the world’s largest big cat.

Locals say Shabaldin is likely to have then been dragged away into the forest.

Video taken by the victim’s shocked colleagues from a rough track near where he was staying appears to show several scattered items of clothing, as well as bits of what look to be human innards.

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Tiger footprints were visible at the site, which had prompted workmates to say it was a tiger rather than a brown bear that took Shabaldin on.

Earlier this month, a zoo in China was slammed for letting a tiger stray into a lion's den before it died after having a brawl with three big cats.

In disturbing footage of the incident, the lions can be seen each clamping down on a different body part with their powerful jaws - one on its neck and the others on its rump - as they surround the outnumbered tiger.

Ryan Fahey

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