3 critically endangered Sumatran tigers found dead in a single day in traps
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Three Sumatran tigers were found dead after being caught in traps on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the latest setback for a critically endangered species whose numbers are estimated to have dwindled to about 400, authorities said Monday.
A female and a male tiger were found dead Sunday with leg injuries caused by a snare trap near a palm oil plantation in East Aceh district of Aceh province, local police chief Hendra Sukmana said.
The body of another female tiger was found hours later about 550 yards away with a snare still embedded in her almost-severed neck and legs, he said.
Sukmana said authorities have appealed to the community and plantation companies not to set snares in forest areas where wild animals may cross.
A necropsy was underway by a team of veterinarians to determine the causes of the tigers’ death, said Agus Arianto, who heads the conservation agency in Aceh, adding that several traps similar to ones used to capture wild boars on farms were found in the area around the dead tigers.
Snare traps are commonly used by farmers on Sumatra to catch wild boars, which are considered destructive pests with a wide and ravenous appetite for a variety of plants. However, poachers have also used snare traps to kill endangered wildlife for commercial purposes.
For 10 days, the London Zoo kept its newly arrived male Sumatran tiger Asim in a separate enclosure from Melati, the female tiger who was supposed to become his mate.
“We strongly condemned this incident and will cooperate with law-enforcement agencies in an investigation,” Arianto said in a statement.
Under Indonesia’s Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems law, those who intentionally kill protected animals would face up to five years in prison and a fine of 100 million rupiah ($7,000).
Sumatran tigers — the most critically endangered tiger subspecies — are under increasing pressure from poaching and a shrinking jungle habitat, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. It estimated that fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild.
It was the latest killing of endangered animals on Sumatra island. Conservationists say the COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased poaching as villagers turn to hunting to supplement diminished incomes.
Castro Junior, or CJ, a 250-pound Sumatran tiger who came from the Sacramento Zoo, makes his debut Friday at the Los Angeles Zoo.
In October, a female tiger was found dead with injuries caused by a snare trap in Bukit Batu wildlife reserve in the Bengkalis district of Riau province, just two months after three tigers, including two cubs, were found dead in the Leuser Ecosystem Area, a forested region for tiger conservation in Aceh and North Sumatra provinces.
Aceh police also arrested four men last June for allegedly catching a tiger with a snare trap and selling its remains for 100 million rupiah ($7,000). Days later, another Sumatran tiger died after it ate a goat laced with rat poison in neighboring North Sumatra province.
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