Three Critically Endangered Sumatran Tigers Found Dead After Caught in Traps

Three critically endangered Sumatran tigers were found dead after being caught in traps on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, whose numbers are estimated to have dwindled to about 400 in the wild.

A female and a male tiger were found dead Sunday with leg injuries from snare trap near a palm oil plantation in East Aceh district of Aceh province, while another female tiger was found hours later about 550 yards away with a snare still embedded in her almost-severed neck and legs, local police chief Hendra Sukmana said in ABC News.

Snare traps are typically used by farmers on Sumatra Island to catch wild boars - a destructive pest in the region, which has "wide and ravenous" appetite for a variety of plants. Since this is also affecting endangered wildlife at some point, authorities have appealed to the community and plantation companies not to set snares in forest areas where wild animals may cross, said Sukmana.

A team of veterinarians are on their way to conduct an autopsy 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."

Loss of the Most Critically Endangered Tiger Subspecies

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers are estimated to survive on the island of Sumatra, which is their only shelter. Moreover, their species has most recently been assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2008 and listed as Critically Endangered.

"We strongly condemned this incident and will cooperate with law enforcement agencies in an investigation," Arianto said in a statement about the latest killing.

Unfortunately, this population of Panthera tigris sondaica have been victims of poaching and a shrinking jungle habitat, aggravated by increased poaching and hunting during the coronavirus pandemic. According to conservationists, villagers turn to this sort to supplement diminished incomes.

Profiting on the Endangered Species

Criminals who intentionally kill protected animals - including Sumatran tigers - would be punished up to five years in prison and a fine of 100 million rupiah ($7,000) under Indonesia's Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems law.

Sumatran tigers, among other species under increasing risk, have been put through "poaching for profit" at the hands of oil palm plantations and illegal logging.

In October last year, a female tiger was found dead in a snare trap in the Bengkalis district's Bukit Batu wildlife reserve. Just two months earlier, two cubs and an adult tiger were also found dead in a forested region for tiger conservation in Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, known as the Leuser Ecosystem Area.

Aceh police had arrested four men last June for allegedly catching a tiger in a snare trap and selling its remains for 100 million rupiah ($7,000). Days later, another Sumatran tiger was killed after it ate a goat laced with rat poison in neighboring North Sumatra province.

Sadly, Sumatran tigers are not the only species to have been victims of traps. In November last year, a baby elephant died after losing half her trunk to a trap set by poachers.