2018年9月怀孕的母苏门答腊虎死于陷阱（One of the World’s Rarest Tigers Was Just Killed by a Pig Trap）-博物wiki

Locals reported to a Sumatran conservation agency that a female tiger was seen caught inside a pig trap placed by a hunter in Muara Lembu village in Riau province, Indonesia. (Image: © Wahyudi/AFP/Getty)

One of the World’s Rarest Tigers Was Just Killed by a Pig Trap

For endangered species, the death of just one animal threatens the group’s future. The loss is especially poignant when a death is accidental, which was recently the case for a rare Sumatran tiger.

A hunter on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia laid a trap earlier this week hoping to catch a wild pig. But yesterday (Sept. 25), the hunter discovered a much bigger animal caught in his snare: one of the island’s rare big cats, international news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) reported.

The hunter reported the trapped tiger to local conservation officials, but when they arrived at the scene, the cat had disappeared. Today (Sept. 26), the tiger’s body was found nearby, and officials suspect that a rope from the trap, which was found tightly cinched around the tiger’s abdomen, killed the animal, according to AFP. [Iconic Cats: All 9 Subspecies of Tigers]

Just one tiger casualty would have been bad enough, but this tiger was a pregnant female due to deliver her cubs, conservation officials told the AFP.

Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) are a subspecies found only in the forests and swamps of Sumatra, and fewer than 400 individuals are thought to live in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF).

Poaching exacts a heavy toll on the endangered Sumatran tigers, with an estimated 40 animals killed per year for the illegal animal trade. But accelerating habitat loss is the more immediate threat to this iconic animal, as deforestation transforms the tigers’ wooded homes into plantations, the WWF reported.

Originally published on Live Science.

内容大意：苏门答腊岛上的猎人设置了陷阱，意在捕猎野猪。但是在2018年9月25日，猎人发现了自己的陷阱捕到了一只苏门答腊虎，猎人向当地保护部门进行了报告，但当保护部门的工作人员到达现场时，老虎已经逃脱了。然而到2018年9月26日，人们在附近发现了死去的老虎，保护官员怀疑是陷阱中的绳子紧紧地缠绕在老虎的腹部上，从而杀死了老虎。失去一只老虎已经够糟糕的了，然而这还是一只即将分娩的母苏门答腊虎。