- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
Indonesia hunts clues as study suggests Javan tiger may still exist
Indonesia is hunting for more clues that the extinct Javan tiger may still exist in the wild, a government official said Tuesday, after a new study suggested links between a DNA-tested hair and the big cat.
The endemic Javan and Balinese tigers were wiped out in the 1980s and 1940s respectively, leaving only Sumatran tigers remaining in the archipelago nation.
Scientists from Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) along with conservationists discovered genetic traces of the Javan tiger in a single hair found near a West Java village in 2019, according to a study published by Cambridge University Press last week.
"The Environment and Forestry Ministry appreciates the research... there are several actions that we are doing and will do to respond to the results," Satyawan Pudyatmoko, head of conservation at the environment and forestry ministry, told AFP.
He said those measures included setting up camera traps, inviting genetics experts to help authorities conduct further research and tests, and collecting community data.
"If, for example, it is proven that it still exists, it will certainly become a protected animal. It is the obligation of all parties, including the society, to participate in preserving their population," he said.
The tiger hair shared similarities with Sumatran and Bengal tigers but was distinct from other tiger sub-species, the researchers said.
The study said a local resident reported a Javan tiger sighting in 2019 at a plantation in a forest near Sukabumi city in West Java province.
A hair was taken from a fence where the big cat was alleged to have jumped, and footprints and claw marks were found, it said.
"Based on our in-depth interview with (resident) Ripi Yanur Fajar, who saw the tiger, we believe the hair is from a Javan tiger," read the study's abstract.
"Whether the Javan tiger still occurs in the wild needs to be confirmed with further genetic and field studies."
Muhammad Ali Imron, head of WWF Indonesia's Forest and Wildlife Program, told AFP he appreciated the researchers' efforts but said hair samples were "very limited" and needed to be confirmed with more samples and other genetic testing methods.
He also expressed concern the findings were made public because of "a risk" of alerting hunters.
The Javan tiger became extinct because of poaching and increasing conflict with humans, authorities say.
Sumatran tigers -- often targeted by poachers for their body parts -- are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with fewer than 400 believed to be in the wild.
O.M.Souza--AMWN