スマトラトラ３頭の死骸発見　インドネシア

【バンダアチェＡＦＰ＝時事】インドネシアの警察によると、スマトラ島北端アチェ州で２４日、絶滅の危機にひんするスマトラトラ３頭がわなに掛かって死んでいるのが発見された。（図解は野生のトラの分布について説明したもの）
　死骸が見つかったのは、東アチェのパーム農園。動物保護当局によると、地元の環境活動家が２頭を発見し、警察に通報した。数時間後、そこから５００メートル離れた場所で、警察が３頭目の死骸を見つけた。
　最初の２頭はスチール製のひもで足を縛られた状態で折り重なるように死んでおり、外傷は見られなかったという。３頭目も足を縛られており、腐敗が始まっていた。
　地元警察のヘンドラ・スクマナ署長は２４日夜、「スマトラトラがイノシシのわなに掛かって死んだとみている」とコメントした。検視を行い、死因を調べる予定。
　スマトラトラは、国際自然保護連合（ＩＵＣＮ）の「レッドリスト（Ｒｅｄ Ｌｉｓｔ）」で「深刻な危機（ＣＲ）」に分類されている。野生の個体は４００頭に満たないとみられる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/04/27-10:01）

Three critically endangered Sumatran tigers were found dead in western Indonesia on Sunday after being ensnared by traps, police said, dealing another blow to the species' rapidly declining population.
Rampant deforestation has reduced the tigers' natural habitat and increasing conflict with humans has left only several hundred of the endangered species remaining in the wild, according to estimates.
Two of the dead tigers were first found by local conservationists in Aceh -- which sits on the the northern tip of Sumatra island -- before police were alerted, conservation officials said.
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 metres (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 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 are also targeted by poachers for their body parts that are widely used in traditional medicine -- particularly in China -- despite overwhelming scientific evidence that they have no beneficial value.