After 1979, no more sightings of tigers in Meru Betiri National Park were confirmed. In 1980, it was recommended to extend the wildlife reserve and completely eliminate the disruptive influence of humans on the fragile ecosystem. The Indonesian Nature Conservation Authority implemented these recommendations in 1982 by gazetting the reserve as a national park. These measures were too late to save the few remaining tigers in the region. In 1987, a group of 30 students of Bogor Agricultural University ("Institut Pertanian Bogor") conducted an expedition to Meru Betiri. They searched the area in groups of five and found tiger scat and tracks.