Kerinci Seblat National Park is the largest national park on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. It covers an area of 13,791 km and is located in four provinces: West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, and South Sumatra.
Geography
The area is found between 100°31'18"E – 102°44'01"E and 1°07'13"S – 3°26'14"S.
The park covers a large part of the Barisan mountain range, which runs along the western side of Sumatra island and includes Mount Kerinci (3,805 m), the highest peak in Sumatra and one of more than five active volcanoes in the national park. This mountainous area has hot springs, rivers with fast-moving water, caves, beautiful waterfalls, and Lake Gunung Tujuh, which is the highest caldera lake in Southeast Asia. The Great Sumatran fault passes through the park, making it very interesting to geologists. The park completely surrounds the inhabited Kerinci Valley.
Flora and fauna
The park is home to many different kinds of plants and animals. More than 4,000 plant species have been found in the park, including the world’s largest flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, and the plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence, the titan arum.
The park is home to Sumatran tigers and is recognized by the Global Tiger Initiative as one of the 12 most important protected areas in the world for tiger conservation. A recent study shows that Kerinci Seblat National Park in central Sumatra has the highest number of tigers on the island, with an estimated population of 165 to 190 tigers. The park also has the highest tiger occupancy rate among protected areas, with signs of tigers found in 83% of the park. More tigers live in Kerinci Seblat National Park than in all of China, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam combined.
The park is also home to other large, medium, and small cats, including the Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi), marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), and Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii). Asian golden cats are found throughout the park because they can live in many types of habitats, including forests and open spaces. A camera trap image captured a rare moment of a golden cat mother carrying a cub to another location with her mouth.
Other highly endangered species in the park include the Sumatran dhole, Sumatran elephant, Sunda clouded leopard, Malayan tapir, and Malayan sun bear. In 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature added the Sumatran muntjac to the list of Sumatran fauna. This deer species was not recorded since the late 1920s and is now considered a new species, not a subspecies. The park also protects more than 370 bird species, including the Sumatran ground-cuckoo, which was rediscovered in the park in 2002.
The Kerinci area is home to more than 300 bird species, including 17 of Sumatra’s 20 endemic birds. This makes the area especially important for scientists who study birds and for people who enjoy bird-watching.
The population of Sumatran rhinoceros in the park was estimated to be around 500 in the 1980s. However, due to poaching, the Kerinci Seblat population is now considered extinct.
Conservation and threats
The national park was created in 1982, formed from many protected forests called hutan lindung and small nature reserves. However, the park's borders were not officially confirmed until the late 1990s.
Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Gunung Leuser National Parks, it is part of a World Heritage Site called the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra. Since 2011, UNESCO has listed this site as a World Heritage Site in Danger.
Kerinci Seblat National Park is also recognized as an ASEAN Heritage Site.