Harimau Lucu — Comically smiling striped tiger statue standing on a green military post gate with trees in the background.

Harimau Lucu

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Published October 21, 2026

Harimau Lucu, meaning "Cute Tiger" in Indonesian, is the nickname social media users gave to a grinning tiger statue outside a military base in Garut, West Java, after a March 2017 photo turned the sculpture into a national joke. Within three days, the Indonesian Army chiseled the statue off its plinth, and Twitter users posted mock funerals and threads of similarly awkward tiger sculptures at other army bases.

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Overview

The statue depicted the fierce tiger mascot of the Indonesian Army's Siliwangi Military Command, but the sculptor gave it round eyes, a wide cartoon grin and a flat body that looked nothing like the division's official logo1. Online jokes zeroed in on the gap between the menacing mascot art and the cheerful roadside statue, with photoshops placing the tiger inside film posters and surreal scenes1.

Alternate nicknames traveled alongside Harimau Lucu, including Harimau Humanis, meaning "Humanist Tiger"3. Posts about the statue often set its photo next to captions wondering why it looked so happy, and Indonesian comic artists started threads of other poorly sculpted tiger statues standing at army bases across the country3.

Origin & Background

Platform
Twitter
Creator
Unknown
Date
2017

The sculpture went up in 2011 at the entrance to the Siliwangi Military Command base in the Cisewu area of Garut, West Java, where it stood for years with little notice3. On March 11, 2017, Twitter user Vincent Candra posted a photo of the statue with a caption asking what kind of tiger it was supposed to be, and Indonesian social media picked it up within hours1. Candra later told the BBC he had laughed when he first saw the tiger and did not expect the post to travel widely1.

Division commander Maj. General Herindra said the statue was made "a long time ago in Cisewu district" by a local artist, adding that each unit decided on its own sculpture and that this one's artist "was not that good"1.

How It Spread

On March 12, 2017, an Indonesian Army spokesperson replied on Twitter that the statue was indeed funny, though the account later deleted the reply, and Colonel Desi ARH of the Siliwangi Military Command said it would be replaced3. Indonesian comic illustrator @JukiHoki posted a thread of other awkward army base tiger statues that collected close to 400 retweets in four days3.

On March 13, soldiers demolished the statue with chisels, and photos of the destruction circulated on Indonesian Twitter1. Reactions turned mournful fast, with users writing "RIP Cisewu tiger, thank you for entertaining us" and placing the sculpture in heaven next to Harambe1. The Facebook page Kementerian Humor Indonesia published a cartoon tribute, while a Tirto.id opinion piece questioned the aesthetic choices behind barracks sculpture4.

The Jakarta Post reported on March 16 that the netizen frenzy outlasted the statue itself, and the Siliwangi Military Command, part of Kodam III, later installed a more conventional replacement at the Cisewu site25.

Timeline

2011

Local artist completes the grinning tiger statue at the Siliwangi Military Command base in Cisewu, Garut.

2017-03-11

Twitter user Vincent Candra posts a photo of the statue asking what kind of tiger it is, and the image goes viral in Indonesia.

2017-03-12

Indonesian Army spokesperson acknowledges the statue is funny; Colonel Desi ARH announces it will be replaced.

2017-03-13

Soldiers chisel the statue off its base, and @JukiHoki's thread of other awkward army tiger statues spreads on Twitter.

2017-03-16

The Jakarta Post reports that the online frenzy outlasted the statue itself.

How to Use This Meme

Typical posts place a photo of the Cisewu statue next to a punchline about its grin, or edit the tiger into film posters, religious scenes and other surreal mashups, following the March 2017 photoshops documented by the BBC1. Comic artists often reply with other "ugly tiger" statue photos from Indonesian military bases3.

Frequently Asked Questions