India, March 27 -- A single hair strand found in a village on the island in 2019 found to be genetically belonging to subspecies

Could the Javan tiger still be around in the jungles of the island of Java in Indonesia? The tiger was extirpated on Indonesia's main island (the most populous globally) and was declared extinct in 2008 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. But now, a surprising finding has raised hopes.

A single hair found on a village fence in the west of the island in 2019 has been DNA-tested and has been found to be belonging to the extinct species, a study published by Indonesian researchers on March 21 has revealed.

The Javan tiger was endemic to the island, where it was "widespread in lowland forests, ...