Tigers lost to animal traps:

Three critically endangered Sumatran tigers were found dead after being caught in traps on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in the latest setback for a species whose numbers are estimated to have dwindled to about 400, authorities said Monday.

A female and a male tiger were found dead Sunday with leg injuries caused by a snare trap near a palm oil plantation in East Aceh district of Aceh province, said local police chief Hendra Sukmana.

The body of another female tiger was found hours later about 500 meters (550 yards) away with a snare still embedded in her almost-severed neck and legs, he said.

Sukmana said authorities have appealed to the community and plantation companies not to set snares in forest areas where wild animals may cross.

An autopsy was underway by a team of veterinarians to determine the causes of the tigers’ death, said Agus Arianto, who heads the conservation agency in Aceh, adding that several traps similar to ones used to capture wild boars on farms were found in the area around the dead tigers. (AP)