Sumatran tigers in rare footage

A conservation charity has recorded footage of 12 critically endangered Sumatran tigers, including a mother playing with her cubs, in a forest it claims is due to be cleared by loggers.

One video shows three young cubs chasing a leaf. Another, triggered by infrared sensors, shows the big cats strolling across a clearing at night. Sumatran tigers are on the brink of extinction because of habitat destruction, poaching and clashes with humans. Their numbers have dwindled to about 400 from 1,000 in the 1970s.

The WWF set up hidden cameras in the Indonesian forests in March and April. The tigers were seen in a corridor, not officially protected, near Bukit Tigapuluh National Park. The WWF said timber permits were pending in the corridor but the forestry ministry said logging licences would not be issued for a known location or crossing area of an endangered species.