Four arrested over slaughter of endangered tiger

Police say three men used a deer trap to capture a four-year-old male Sumatran tiger, one of the most endangered species and known for its heavy black stripes on their orange coats.

But when they offered the skin and bones for sale for about 6,700 euro ($7,400 dollars), they didn't realize their buyers were undercover police.

Villagers in Jambe Rambung village in Aceh province had tipped off law enforcement to the poachers, police say, and the three poachers and a fourth man acting as a broker were arrested on the spot and confiscated the tiger's hide and bones.

Lt. Col. Mirwazi told the AP news agency late Monday that the four could be charged with violating a 1999 law on protection of natural resources and face up to five years in prison.

Highly prized on black market

One of the suspects had admitted to killing another Sumatran tiger and selling its body parts about three years ago, the officials said. The animals are highly prized as their body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine and fetch high prices on the black market.

WWF says there are less than 400 wild Sumatran tigers left, down from 1,000 in the 1970s. Their numbers have fallen due to destruction of rainforest habitat to make palm oil as well as pulp and paper plantations.

Poaching continues to plague tiger populations worldwide. In Bangladesh police shot and killed six suspected poachers last week after they said the poachers had ambushed a patrol.

jar/gsw (AP, AFP)