JAKARTA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- A male Sumatran tiger has been found dead in a wire snare trap in a forest area in Siak regency in Indonesia's western province of Riau, a local authority said on Tuesday.
A rotten pig carcass was found inside the dead tiger's stomach. The pig was presumably used as bait, according to the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency Center (BKSDA).
The agency received a report about the dead tiger on Monday from PT Arara Abadi (AA), a company holding industrial forest permits on the area.
The local conservation agency's chief Suharyono said the company made the report after being told by a head of a village nearby of the incident.
"The area is the habitat of Sumatran tigers," Suharyono was quoted by Indonesia's state news agency Antara as saying on Tuesday.
The agency chief estimated that the male tiger, aged between one and two years old, was ensnared in a trap for about a week, worsening the wounds in the carnivore's right front leg which most likely led to an infection.
The already critically endangered species also died of dehydration as the water source was far away from the location, he said.
The Sumatran tiger has been listed as a critically endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2008.
According to the estimates of Indonesia's Environment and Forestry Ministry, as of December 2018, the population of Sumatran tigers in the archipelago stands at no more than 600 due to a loss of habitat and poaching. Enditem
