Published 00:18 IST, December 10th 2019
Indonesia Poaching Case, skin and foetuses of endangered tiger found
Indonesia Poaching Case: police have arrested several suspected poachers and recovered the skin and foetuses of a critically endangered Sumatran tiger.
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The Indonesian police have arrested several people in a suspected poaching incident after they recovered the skin of a critically endangered Sumatran tiger. The authorities also recovered 4 foetuses that were preserved in a jar. The bones of the tiger are suspected to have already been sold. Tiger bones are believed to have medicinal properties in some parts of Asia.
Suspected poachers had already sold a tiger skin
The authorities on Sunday, December 8, announced all the evidence and news that three people have also been arrested over the incident. The authorities also suspected that they believed that the suspects would sell the skin to a foreign collector. The suspects according to reports had already sold another tiger skin and had been unable to sell the second skin and foetuses.
The authorities are unsure what the foetuses are for. If the suspects are convicted they could face up to five years in prison. According to TRAFFIC a global wildlife trade monitoring network, poaching is responsible for almost 80 per cent of Sumatran tiger deaths. Sumatran tigers are found in the Indonesian island of Sumatra. This population is currently listed as critically endangered. It is believed that only 400-600 Sumatran tigers survive in the wild.
The Sumatra tiger differs from the Bengal and Javan tigers in skull size and is darker in fur colour and has broader stripes.
Threats
According to the reports of Cat classification task force of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, The major threats that face Sumatran tigers are mainly habitat loss, prey-based depletions and illegal-poaching and trade of body parts. Sumatra's largest tiger population which is in Kerinci Seblat National Park is threatened by a high rate of deforestation in its outer regions. An unsustainable demand for natural resources like tree-crop plantation and high-intensity commercial logging is a big cause for the loss of habitat. The Sumatran Tiger Project (STP) was initiated by the Indonesian government in June 1995 in and around the Way Kambas National Park to ensure the long-term viability of wild Sumatran tigers.
19:47 IST, December 9th 2019