Tracking Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae Pocock, 1929) distribution in Gunung Leuser National Park: The influence of prey presence and environmental variables on habitat selection

By

Saputra, M Hadi
Widyastuti, Salmah
Kuswanda, Wanda
Nugraha, R. Taufiq Purna
Helmanto, Hendra
Anugrah, Nunu
Rahmat, U Mamat
Napitu, Rudianto Saragih
Adnan, Andrinaldi
Iskandarrudin
Purwoko, Agus
Patana, Pindi

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-7-1

Original Publication

Nature conservation

Volume

59

Pages

43--64

Subjects

big cats , ensemble model , Gunung Leuser National Park , maximum entropy , prey availability , Random Forest , species distribution modeling

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2012-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.59.144262

 

Abstract

The Sumatran Tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae Pocock, 1929) is a critically endangered tiger subspecies facing serious challenges such as land cover change and prey population declines. This study generated a species distribution model (SDM) of Sumatran Tigers in Gunung Leuser National Park (GLNP) on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, by integrating predictive prey distribution data and environmental variables. The algorithms used are maximum entropy and random forest. Modeling results showed a positive correlation between the presence of prey animals and forest cover on Sumatran Tiger habitat suitability. Climatic factors and land cover directly affected prey animal distribution, while land cover and prey animal presence affected Sumatran Tiger habitat suitability. Despite a large suitable habitat for Sumatran Tiger (80.4%), the prey distribution range in GLNP is relatively narrow (48.6%), with only 40.3% of the area showing overlap. This highlights the vulnerability of prey availability and the need to boost prey populations to ensure the long-term survival of Sumatran Tigers in GLNP.