Jonathan Head: Bleak future for tigers

Zookeepers at the Taman Safari Park have been forced to cut rations for the park's population of Sumatran tigers, because they lack the funds to buy meat.

In the past few months, food prices in Indonesia have soared, while the economic squeeze means that fewer people can afford to visit the park, which has led to a drop in revenue.

Some relief has come in the form of 16 tons of frozen kangaroo meat, a gift from Australian schoolchildren, who saved pocket money to make the donation.

This has allowed the park authorities to devote their limited funds to the most important part of their work, the breeding and conservation programme.

Poaching and the destruction of natural habitats have brought the Sumatran tigers close to extinction in the past, which makes it all the more important that a breeding population is retained in captivity in the park.