Men rescued after FIVE DAYS up a tree hiding from tigers

Fearsome ... a Sumatran tiger
They were forced to cling to branches for five days after they were chased by the fearsome predators last week.
A sixth man fell from the tree and was mauled to death by the tigers which then ate half his remains.
Rescuers finally reached the survivors on Monday in a remote mountainous spot in the rainforest of northern Sumatra, Indonesia.
The stranded men were weak from starvation when they were helped down from the trees after rangers managed to drive the tigers away, police said.
District police chief Lt Col Dicky Sondani said the group had gone into the protected Mount Leuser National Park in search of agarwood — used to make incense and perfume.
They said they set a trap to catch deer for food but accidentally trapped and fatally wounded a tiger cub.
An enraged family of adult tigers then hunted down and attacked the group — who fled up into the trees for safety and sent panicked mobile phone messages to friends.
It took rescuers more three days to reach them through the rugged terrain fearing they would be too late to save them as they had no supplies of food or water.
First Lt Surya Purba said: "I received a report from rescuers that they have just evacuated the men after tamers managed to drive away the tigers.
"They are all in weak condition.” He added they survived by drinking rain water.
The man who was mauled to death was aged 28. Purba said he managed to climb a tree, “but the branch broke, causing him to fall to the ground”.
There were seven tigers wandering around the trees but four left before the rescuers arrived, he said.
The rescue team of soldiers, policemen and conservationists was sent after villagers were unable to reach the men as the dangerous tigers would not leave the area.
Sumatran tigers are the rarest subspecies with only an estimated 400 left in the wild.

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