Tigers Have Trapped 5 Men in Tree ... Since Thursday

Five Indonesian men have been trapped up a tree since Thursday, when they accidentally killed a tiger cub and were subsequently chased up the tree by Sumatran tigers. A sixth member of the group was killed by the tigers, the BBC reports. The group was in a national park looking for agarwood, a rare wood used to make incense, which can be sold for around $505 a kilogram. They were trying to trap deer for food, but one of the traps caught a tiger cub instead; adult tigers came to investigate and attacked the men.

Those who escaped up the tree used cellphones to call for help. Local villagers tried to rescue them, but were scared off by the four large tigers still circling the tree. Thirty members of a search and rescue team arrived at the Gunung Leuser jungle Saturday, but the police chief says it could take as long as three days for the team to reach the men. "If the tigers remain under the tree, we may have to shoot or sedate them," he adds. (The Jakarta Globe indicates he's talking about shooting them with an anesthetic.) Another group had to be rescued from a similar situation recently.