Three Sumatran tigers have been found dead in a nature reserve in Aceh, the northernmost province on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

According to the head of the local animal protection organization, the Sumatran tigers, which are considered an endangered species, have been caught in traps that may have been set by poachers. They died as a result of the wound. Two of the three dead animals were cubs. Less than 400 Sumatran tigers live in the wild.

More traps are being found near the animals, says environmental advocate Agus Arianto. It is usually used to hunt wild boar in farmland. “It is highly unlikely that anyone would hunt for wild boars in a protected area, so we assume that these traps were set up to hunt endangered animals for financial gain.”

Arianeto says his organization, which operates the Leuser Ecosystem Nature Reserve, is working with authorities to find the culprits(s).

More danger from corona

The Sumatran tiger is one of the tiger species that is under the greatest pressure worldwide. Conservation organizations have been warning for months that the coronavirus crisis poses an even greater danger to animals: they say locals who previously had other sources of income are now rising out of poverty.

Last month, a female tiger was found dead in a trap in Aceh. In June of this year, a tiger was killed in North Sumatra province after it ate from a dead goat that was found to have been poisoned by rat poison.

Around the same time, Nimr died in Aceh. Only in the latter case the perpetrators were later arrested: it turned out that the four men wanted to sell parts of the tiger’s body for about 100 million rupees, that is, about 5900 euros. For most Indonesians, this is several annual incomes.