A group of six Indonesian men were attacked by several tigers on Thursday, forcing five of the men to climb a tree, where they've remained since. The sixth man was mauled to death as he attempted to join his partners in the tree. Help for the trapped men reportedly won't arrive until sometime Wednesday.
The tiger attack occurred after the men, searching for wood to make a rare incense in the Gunung Leuser jungle, set traps for deer for food and, in the process, inadvertently killed a tiger cub. According to Indonesian police, the dying tiger cub attracted fully grown Sumatran tigers, who proceeded to attack the men, catching and killing one, a 28-year-old named David. The surviving five took refuge in a nearby tree.
The trapped men used their cell phones to call local villagers, who rushed to the scene only to retreat after spotting the prowling tigers. A 30-person search team called in on Saturday should reach the men by Wednesday.
"It might need two or three days to walk on foot to the depths of the jungle,” Police chief Dicky Sondani told the BBC. "If the tigers remain under the tree, we may have to shoot or sedate them to rescue the five people.”
The Sumatran tigers are an endangered species, with as few as 350 remaining in the wild.
[BBC/Image via Shutterstock]
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