Two Australian soccer players, Nick Vlastuin and Jack Graham of the Richmond Tiger traveled to the Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling landscape in Riau. They spent four days learning first-hand about Sumatran Tiger conservation from the BBKSDA Riau team and WWF Central Sumatra Program in the tiger's habitat.

On the first day (November 23), the trip began with a visit to the Riau BBKSDA office. Here the two soccer players, who are stars in their countries, were briefed on the rescue of a male tiger trapped under a shophouse in Pulau Burung, Indragiri Hilir. Suharyono. SH, MH, Head of BBKSDA Riau explained the difficult process of rescuing this male tiger that had been trapped under the foundation of the shophouse for several days. The rescue team made a hole by breaking through the wall under the foundation of the building first so that the medical team could anesthetize the tiger. Racing against time before the tiger woke up, the team had to get the tiger out of the narrow underpass.

"This is the real challenge we face in the field, on the other hand we have limited facilities for animal rescue," Suharyono explained.

"I want all parties to help each other find solutions to these challenges. Including from this trip, I hope there is real support from the international public for the conservation of Sumatran tigers and other animals," Suharyono further explained.

The two soccer players' journey continued to Tanjung Belit Village, Kampar Kiri Hulu, Kampar. Located on the edge of the Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Sanctuary, this village is one of the villages assisted by WWF together with the consortium (Yapeka and Indecon). Enjoying the late afternoon, the two well-built men tried interacting with the community through Lintas Subayang community radio. This was followed by a look at organic farming and biogas management. This activity is part of an integrated tiger habitat protection effort with the aim of reducing pressure from community activities into the area through the utilization of resources around them.

The cheerful laughter and enthusiasm of Tanjung Belit Elementary School children broke the silence of the school's soccer field, when two soccer players invited them to participate in playing Australian soccer. This soccer game is different from the soccer we know in Indonesia. The ball is oval-shaped, can be kicked and can be thrown. The enthusiastic chasing of the ball and the chasing of the two players filled the morning with excitement (24/11).

Richmond Tiger is one of the most famous soccer teams in Australia. The team has hundreds of thousands of fans in the country. And true to their name tiger, they want to help deliver the message of saving the Sumatran Tiger to the Australian public.

Nick Vlastuin, the number one player at his club and a household name in his country was impressed by the natural beauty around Rimbang Baling. As soon as he saw the clear Subayang River, he immediately wanted to dive into the river. Not only did he enjoy the nature, but along the way he also began to understand the importance of saving the Sumatran Tiger.

"I knew the Sumatran Tiger was on the verge of extinction but I didn't know the exact problems and challenges of saving this species in its habitat," Nick said.

'I learned a lot from this trip, I understand how hard the work is to save these tigers, deforestation, poaching, conflicts threaten their existence." Nick explained.

The excitement of these two players did not fade at all when the tiger monitoring team (a collaboration between WWF-Indonesia and BBKSDA Riau) took them to see how the camera traps used for Sumatran tiger population research work. The steep and high hill was traversed leisurely, the sudden heavy rain that poured down the hilltop did not dampen their steps even a little towards the camera trap installation site. The journey then continued to the Tiger Protection Unit Camp in the Rimbang Baling landscape of Singingi Hilir, Kuantan Singingi Regency.

The morning of the third day began with following the Tiger Protection Unit (a collaboration between WWF-Indonesia and BBKSDA Riau) on foot patrols into the forest. These patrols are conducted to reduce threats into the Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Sanctuary. The two footballers learned how to conduct patrols, record findings and clear snares set on the forest floor.

Nick and Jack also did some planting in the restoration area at Rimbang Baling. Here they learned that saving species and their habitats from illegal activities is not only through law enforcement but can also be done through intensive awareness raising. It is evident that the restored area was formerly an encroached area (claimed) by the community. Through awareness raising conducted by BBKSDA Riau and WWF teams, some of them realized and handed over the area to the authority, namely BBKSDA Riau.

Jack stated, "We have seen first-hand and experienced the efforts made to save the Sumatran Tiger and its habitat here." We will share this experience with people in Australia so that they support the protection of the Sumatran Tiger and its habitat."

The two players also requested to be kept informed about the conservation work being done to save the Sumatran Tiger, promising to continue actively campaigning in support of this charismatic animal.