John Banovich
Man-Eater of Sumatra, 2019
oil on belgian linen
18h x 24w in
45.72h x 60.96w cm
SOLD
I once traveled with my friend and tiger expert Dale Miquelle to the Indonesian island of Sumatra looking for the rare and elusive Sumatran tiger. Spending time in Lorentz National Park we then traveled south to the Tambling Nature Reserve. A public/private partnership, Tambling revealed the most beautiful and ecologically diverse landscape I have ever seen in Southeast Asia. We traveled down rivers, walked in the forest and discovered massive buffalo herds, rich primate filled canopies and lots of sign of tigers. One of the most impactful encounters was a tiger that had been kept in a large enclosure as he was a convicted man-eater. In fact, he was so good at it he had killed and devoured nine people. When I walked up to him he, let me know he wanted me to be the 10th victim. While I didn’t agree with his intentions, it became clear to me that he would need to spend the rest of his days confined as he was too dangerous to be released back into the wild….and I know many local people in the community slept better knowing that.
