Mila is a young Indonesian woman who learnt about the plight of the tigers at an early age and dreamt about doing something about it.
After graduating, she joined WWF as a tiger conservationist. Mila heads a Tiger Research Team which works in Central Sumatra, Indonesia, setting up camera traps which photograph or film tigers.
This material is used to help calculate the number of tigers and their movement patterns, gathering data that aids in tiger and habitat conservation.
I've heard about WWF since I was in university. It's an environmental organization with many years of experience on species conservation work. Well, wildlife has always been my passion. So if I want to give contribution to species work, I know I have to come and work for WWF.
What got you interested in tigers?
My grandfather used to tell me bedtime stories about wild animals, so when when I was in university, I used to spend my vacation days doing voluntary work.
What are the most challenging aspects of your work?
Fieldwork is always challenging, especially because Sumatran tigers occur at very low densities which means we have to cover extensive forest areas and spend days in search for tiger signs.
How do Camera Traps help with the conservation of tigers?
The camera trap is really a fantastic tool. Before camera traps were available, the study of Sumatran tigers relied mainly on footprints, or scratch marks on a tree, [and] you might confuse their size, especially when the footprints are old. But with the camera traps, you'll reduce this error by having pictures of tigers and you can identify the individuals from their stripes. So distribution data, population data, are more actual.
How do you feel as the only woman on the team?
We share this common and common passion for saving Sumatran tigers. So the team treat me in a way that I get this self-confidence
How can other people help you in your work?
There are many ways to help tiger conservation. People can easily get the information about tigers, learn about why they are important in our eco-system.
Another way is to make sure that every product that we use in our daily lives, such as the paper we use for writing, toilet paper or even our cooking oil and the snacks that we consume are come from the certified, sustainable plantations.
I think it is important that we give our support especially to the government of Indonesia. Trusting that they can do the right thing, by implementing action plans that can help save our tigers.
This material is used to help calculate the number of tigers and their movement patterns, gathering data that aids in tiger and habitat conservation.
An Interview with Mila:
What inspired you to come work for WWF?I've heard about WWF since I was in university. It's an environmental organization with many years of experience on species conservation work. Well, wildlife has always been my passion. So if I want to give contribution to species work, I know I have to come and work for WWF.
What got you interested in tigers?
My grandfather used to tell me bedtime stories about wild animals, so when when I was in university, I used to spend my vacation days doing voluntary work.
What are the most challenging aspects of your work?
Fieldwork is always challenging, especially because Sumatran tigers occur at very low densities which means we have to cover extensive forest areas and spend days in search for tiger signs.
How do Camera Traps help with the conservation of tigers?
The camera trap is really a fantastic tool. Before camera traps were available, the study of Sumatran tigers relied mainly on footprints, or scratch marks on a tree, [and] you might confuse their size, especially when the footprints are old. But with the camera traps, you'll reduce this error by having pictures of tigers and you can identify the individuals from their stripes. So distribution data, population data, are more actual.
How do you feel as the only woman on the team?
We share this common and common passion for saving Sumatran tigers. So the team treat me in a way that I get this self-confidence
How can other people help you in your work?
There are many ways to help tiger conservation. People can easily get the information about tigers, learn about why they are important in our eco-system.
Another way is to make sure that every product that we use in our daily lives, such as the paper we use for writing, toilet paper or even our cooking oil and the snacks that we consume are come from the certified, sustainable plantations.
I think it is important that we give our support especially to the government of Indonesia. Trusting that they can do the right thing, by implementing action plans that can help save our tigers.
