By: Cik Aman

"How about we climb down from that tree trunk?" He pointed to a tree not far from where we were standing. This sentence is always in my mind because it is one of the unforgettable experiences.

It was a bright morning, with the sun peeking out from the eastern horizon and birds chirping and Siamangs hanging from the trees. As usual, every morning we as a patrol team of four people start our activities in the field. We start the day by cooking breakfast and lunch that will be taken as provisions. After that, we immediately rush to get ready for today's patrol activities. One by one, we put logistics and other equipment into a large bag that always faithfully accompanies our footsteps in the middle of the jungle.

We started our journey through the forest and the litter cover was still quite thick. Using a short machete, one of the team members cleared the path that would be passed. After several hours of walking, we have yet to find any sign of the king of the forest, either traces or droppings. This is part of the work that I have been doing for a long time, for 5 years I have joined WWF-Indonesia Central Sumatra and patrolled in the Tiger Protection Unit (TPU) team.

This trip was quite tiring, we had to climb a fairly steep hill and rock walls with an altitude of about 700 meters above sea level. We never felt discouraged, we kept walking even though we were limping. We began to imagine that when we arrived at the top of the hill, we would see the natural beauty of the Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Sanctuary which was very beautiful from a height.

Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling Wildlife Sanctuary is a conservation forest with an area of 136,000 ha and was established by the Decree of the Governor of KDH.Tk. I Riau. Number Kpts.149/V/1982 dated June 21, 1982. This area is located within the Kuantan Sangingi and Kampar Regencies, Riau Province. Bukit Rimbang Bukit Baling SM is a lowland forest that has very high biodiversity which is home to a variety of living things, including one of Sumatra's key animals, the tiger.

The beautiful landscape and distinctive life of the people who live by the river is a special attraction for adventurers. The traditions of the people who live there are still very strong in protecting their nature. Green hills with relatively good forest cover offer their own challenges to explore. In addition, in this area there is also the Subayang river, the main river that drains the wildlife reserve area and holds a variety of beauties.

Arriving at the top of the hill, we were greeted with a breeze. We immediately took off the big bags that we had been carrying during the trip. From the top of the hill we could see the beauty of the SM forest. From the top of the hill we could see the beauty of the SM. Rimbang Baling forest, far away there was the meandering Subayang river which provides life for the people along its course. "Oh..how beautiful is your natural creation God, I promise to keep it sustainable" I muttered to myself.

After resting and the fatigue had begun to gradually disappear, we continued our journey. Suddenly one of the team walking in front said "friends, watch out for snares," we immediately stopped. We found one sling snare that had caught a tapir and it had become a carcass. Who was to blame? Is it the poachers who set the snares or the government, which has little regard for the welfare of the tapirs so they do the job?

We confiscated the snares and took documentation to prove our findings. We also felt a little scared, if the snare setters came and found us confiscating their snares. We found quite a lot of sling snares set by poachers around this area. This proves that this area is still prone to poaching threats, especially for Sumatran tigers and their prey. Once we were sure the area was safe from snares, we continued our journey. We faced many challenges during this early January patrol in 2015.

On the way we also met people who claimed to be hunters of birds and Gaharu wood. But we didn't take their word for it, fearing that they were a group of poachers who often set sling snares and threatened the existence of animals in the forest.

On the way, the team was surprised because the ridge we were on was cut off, on the left and right sides there were only deep ravines. One of the team members checked if there was another way through. About 10 meters below, there was a ridge that could be passed. We brainstormed how to get down there. One of the team said, "what if we go down from that tree trunk?" while pointing to a tree not far from where we were standing. Finally, we went down the ravine through the tree by taking turns.

The obstacles during our patrols in the Rimbang Baling SM area ranged from passing through deep and fast-flowing rivers, climbing rocky and very steep hills, getting injured due to snags and thorns. Not only that, venomous animals such as snakes, centipedes and scorpions could threaten our lives at any time. Of course we also have to deal with encroachers, poachers and illegal logging workers who don't like our work, because we are a threat to them. There is nothing we can do other than to give them the understanding that what they are doing is wrong, and what they are doing now will affect their children and grandchildren in the future.

Even though the obstacles we have to face in doing this work are heavy, we still feel happy. At least we are taking part in protecting the Sumatran Tiger from extinction, however small. Let's save the Sumatran Tiger!