Indonesian authorities are setting off blasts and may use traps to stop tigers terrorizing a forest village in West Sumatra, provincial conservation agency head Indra Arinal said. What could be the results?

Three endangered Sumatran tigers have been devouring livestock in the village of Halaban since last week.

The agency is trying to scare off the animals by setting off explosions in gunpowder-filled metal pipes, but may have to resort to trapping them, Mr. Arinal said. Will humans and other animals be injured by such actions?

“If the tigers keep creating conflict to the village, then we have to use traps and relocate them,” he said.

Two women were trampled to death by a pair of elephants in Aceh province in January 2009, after the animals entered an illegally cleared field from nearby jungle.

Such conflicts are a rising problem in Indonesia – which has some of the world’s largest remaining tropical forests – as human settlements encroach on natural habitats.

A man was also reportedly killed by two tigers on Sumatra island last month.

There are fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers left in the wild, according to environmental group WWF, quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Network.

But will setting off explosions bring unwanted consequences to the human’s actions? More than tigers live in the bush. Could they flush out some Orang Pendeks? What impact does this have on the local cryptids?