By: Natalia Trita Agnika

wwf.id/vtour_rimbangbaling

In an occasion to launch augmented reality presented at ArtScience Museum Singapore some time ago, Sunarto, WWF-Indonesia Wildlife Ecologist said, "Animal and forest conservation has been less than optimal because many people do not understand the condition of our forests and animals." This is because the public does not get a first-hand experience of exploring the forest and getting various information about the forest, which has a lot of influence on the animals that live in it and the humans who live around it.

Now, the public who live far from the forest can also explore one of the wildernesses that has an important role for Sumatran tiger conservation. The forest in question is the Rimbang Baling forest. A group of Sumatran tigers live under the lush trees in the Rimbang Baling forest, Riau.

Rimbang Baling Forest, located in the southwest of Riau Province, is part of the Bukit Tigapuluh wildlife corridor. Covering about 500,000 hectares, the area is a key part of the conservation of many endangered species.

Through Virtual Tour of Rimbang Baling, we can see that the existence of Rimbang Baling forest also plays an important role for human life. This area is the headwaters and water catchment of several major rivers in Sumatra. On the virtual tour, we are greeted by Syamsu, one of the Rimbang Baling's rangers. "Introducing myself, I am Syamsu, a member of the Tiger Protection Unit Team of WWF Central Sumatra in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry," he said.

More than just an ordinary video show, Virtual Tour of Rimbang Baling comes in a 360-degree format so that we can move the image to the left, right, up, and down. There are also various options of areas that we can visit.

[Watch: Virtual Tour of Rimbang Baling]

One of them, we can explore the Rimbang Baling area, starting from areas outside the forest, such as Tanjung Belit Pier, Subayang River, Tongah Island, to Subayang Field Station. Through this tour, it can be seen that what happens to the Rimbang Baling forest will affect the condition of the river, which is the lifeblood of the community around Rimbang Baling.

To get a closer look at the Sumatran tiger habitat, we can press a button that will take us into the Rimbang Baling forest. In this virtual tour, there are two members of WWF-Indonesia's Tiger Survey & Monitoring who guide us into the Rimbang Baling forest, see Sumatran tiger crossings and install camera traps.

Enjoy your tour of Rimbang Baling through Virtual Tour Rimbang Baling. Show your care for the wilderness you have come to know through this virtual tour by becoming a WWF WARRIOR!