Dog attacks threaten deer conservation in Indonesian city

Deer in Baluran National Park in East Java. Antara/Budi Candra Setya via The Jakarta Post

MALANG, Indonesia— A population of spotted deer in the Coban Jahe conservation area in East Java is under threat following a series of attacks by dogs that were suspected to have been trained by poachers.

The East Java Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA East Java) said the trained dogs were behind the killings of 12 spotted deer in cages in the conservation area in Pandansari Lor subdistrict, Malang, East Java, on Jan. 21.

BKSDA East Java head Nandang Prihadi said most of the deer were bitten by dogs while only a small number were bitten by either wild cats or leopards.

According to Nandang, the conclusions were drawn based on a joint investigation conducted at the site on Sunday by a team involving personnel from BKSDA East Java, Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park (TNBTS), state-owned forestry company Perhutani and NGO Pro Fauna.

At a 50-square-meter cage in the conservation area, the team found paw prints. It also found indications of dog bites on the necks of the killed deer.

“We actually thought that it was a leopard or black panther that killed the deer […],” said Nandang, adding that the deer conservation area was located mere kilometers from TNBTS, the habitat of the endangered carnivores.

However, he said it was found that dogs killed the deer. The dogs belonged to poachers living on the outskirts of the forest, he said, alleging that, when they were not hunting, the dogs were often released in the conservation area, hence the attacks.

Pro Fauna Indonesia chairman Rosek Nursahid said that people living around the forest also owned some of the dogs and accompanied them while working in the fields that border the forest. The dogs are also used to protect local residents’ plants from other animals such as monkeys, porcupines and langurs.

The dogs, which are trained hunting dogs, are sometimes rented by poachers from outside their villages.

“According to our observations, twice a month, illegal poachers enter the TNBTS area and the surrounding forests, taking with them five trained dogs each to poach,” Rosek said.

He added that when the dogs can no longer can be controlled, they are tied up and left in the forest but at any time have the ability to release themselves. Once released, they find other abandoned dogs then form a group.

In groups, they hunt according to how they were trained by their former masters. Livestock such as goats are often found dead as a result of attacks by dogs from surrounding villages.

The dogs only intend to paralyze – not eat – their prey, just like they have been trained.

This, according to Rosek, is dangerous for locals because the dogs could spread rabies. “But it’s in the local administration’s domain to deal with the dogs and look into why a joint task force is needed to hunt down the dogs,” he said.

Separately, TNBTS tiger research team member Agung Siswoyo said the national park was the habitat of leopards and black panthers.

He said that when leopards go hunting, they only track down one or two animals as prey. “They never hunt dozens at once,” he said.

Nandang added that the agency had placed goats in a cage at the Coban Jahe deer conservation site as trap bait for illegal poachers.

For deer conservation, he said the conservation site would bring in deer from other deer-breeding facilities.

“But we are to monitor the situation first to make sure that the conservation area is safe from the dogs,” said Nandang, adding that his agency would coordinate with the local administration to deal with the trained dogs.