Three critically endangered Sumatran tigers killed in Indonesia

Three critically endangered Sumatran tigers had been discovered lifeless in western Indonesia on Sunday after being ensnared by traps, police said, dealing any other blow to the species’ hastily declining population.

Rampant deforestation has decreased the tigers’ natural habitat and growing warfare with humans have left best several hundred of the endangered species remaining within the wild, in step with estimates.

Two of the dead tigers have been first observed via nearby conservationists in Aceh — which sits at the northern tip of Sumatra island — earlier than police were alerted, conservation officials stated.

Authorities found the two intact tiger carcasses next to each other with their feet ensnared by steel slings at a palm oil plantation in East Aceh district, a police statement said.

A few hours later, police found a third dead tiger about 500 meters (1,600 feet) away from where the other two tigers were discovered. Its feet were also ensnared by a sling and the body had started to rot.

“Our initial suspicion is that the tigers died after being caught by a boar trap, because when we found them their feet were ensnared by thick steel sling,” local police chief Hendra Sukmana said in a statement late on Sunday.

Officials will conduct autopsies to determine the causes of the tigers’ deaths.

“We strongly condemn this incident… if the tests reveal there’s an intentional action that caused the deaths of these protected species, we will take strict action,” head of Aceh conservation agency Agus Arianto told AFP on Monday.

Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 400 believed to remain in the wild.

Up to 10 tigers are killed yearly, according to the Indonesian forestry ministry.

Tigers also are focused on poachers for their frame components which can be widely used in traditional remedies — especially in China — despite overwhelming medical evidence that they’ve no beneficial cost.