Indonesian villagers kill rare tiger after believing it was a shapeshifter, conservation officials say

  March 4, 2018: The carcass of an endangered Sumatran tiger is pictured hanging from the beams of a public gathering space in an Indonesian village.  (AFP/Getty)

Remote Indonesian villagers who were becoming increasingly fearful that a shapeshifter was hiding out in their community killed and disemboweled a rare Sumatran tiger on Sunday because they thought it harnessed supernatural powers, conservation officials say.

The bloodied carcass of the critically endangered big cat was photographed Sunday hanging from beams covering a public gathering space in Hatupangan in north Sumatra.

"Unfortunately they would not listen. They insisted on killing the tiger," Hotmauli Sianturi, the regional head of Indonesia’s Natural Resources Conservation Agency, told Sky News. "After killing the animal, the locals hung up its body for display. It's very regrettable."

Authorities investigating the killing have discovered that the tiger is missing canine teeth, claws and skin off its face and tail – all body parts that can be used in medicine or sold in the black market, according to Reuters.
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