The recent crackdown on snares was sparked after a Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae<\/em>) was discovered in a wild boar snare in Padang Mantiggi Utara village located in West Sumatra\u2019s Pasaman district.<\/p>\n Officials from the West Sumatra BKSDA, the conservation agency, arrived at the scene at around 13:30 on May 21, where they found a young female tiger in distress and pain. A snare was wrapped around the animal\u2019s neck, trunk and right foreleg, in about five loops.<\/p>\n \u201cShe struggled for a while and began groaning back and forth,\u201d said Edi Susilo, the BKSDA lead in Pasaman district.<\/p>\n The animal was sedated and evacuated to a center operated by the conservation agency.<\/p>\n \u201cFor those [snares] already installed, take them down straight away because they pose risks to protected tigers and sun bears and others,\u201d the BKSDA\u2019s\u00a0Ade Putra said.<\/p>\n Since the letter was issued in late May, rescuers have freed a female sun bear (Helarctos\u00a0<\/em>malayanus) in West Sumatra and an elephant calf (Elephas maximus sumatranus<\/em>) in neighboring Jambi province, which were both found injured in snares in mid-June.<\/p>\n BKDSA\u2019s Susilo said a team from the agency, the Centre for Orangutan Protection and veterinarians from the Pasaman district agriculture department sedated and evacuated the\u00a0injured sun bear\u00a0for treatment on June 19 after receiving a report from the community in Panti, an area of Pasaman district.<\/p>\n In the neighboring Sumatran province of Jambi, rescuers freed a young elephant cub caught in a snare \u2014 reportedly for\u00a0as long as two weeks\u00a0\u2014 on land used to produce palm oil operated by PT Lestari Asri Jaya (LAJ), a subsidiary of France\u2019s Michelin.<\/p>\n The West Sumatra province office of Indonesia\u2019s state conservation agency has recorded four tigers caught in snares in the last four years, two of which died as a result of their injuries.<\/p>\n Researchers from Indonesia and the Memphis Zoological Society reported in\u00a0a 2023 study on tiger snaring in Aceh and North Sumatra, two provinces that together contain a large share of Sumatra\u2019s remaining tiger habitat.<\/p>\n From 2008-2023, the researchers documented 28 confirmed incidents of tigers caught in snares. Nine of these tigers died, while eight others suffered injuries requiring permanent captivity.<\/p>\n Sumatran tigers with disabling injuries are often not released back into the wild as physical impairment can leave them unable to hunt their usual prey. If released, they may resort to fast food sources such as livestock near local settlements, elevating the risk of conflict with humans.<\/p>\n The 28 confirmed cases of tigers caught in snares is a minimum figure only in the two provinces studied, as it does not include tigers successfully trapped by poachers, or cases where the tiger was caught inadvertently and not reported.<\/p>\n Efforts by conservation authorities to restrict the use of snares are complicated by challenging topography and hard-to-reach communities in the Barisan mountain range, home to much of Sumatra\u2019s remaining tiger habitat.<\/p>\n In at least one tiger habitat accessible only by boat, residents living inside a protected forest have previously clashed with conservation officials.<\/p>\n Snares remain the easiest tool for farmers to trap wild boar, which can trample and uproot crops, potentially ruining an entire harvest.<\/p>\n \u201cSnares can be made from any material, they\u2019re easy to make, and are inexpensive compared to homemade weapons or traps,\u201d said Dwi Nugroho Adhiasto, an advisor with the Science for Endangered and Trafficked Species Foundation (SCENTS). \u201cThey can also can be installed en masse using a range of methods.\u201d<\/p>\n But that simplicity makes snares a serious threat to tigers and other wildlife across Sumatra and the wider Southeast Asia region because they are indiscriminate, said ecologist Sunarto.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s no surprise that these various studies have shown snares are one of the causes of extinction or drastic declines in wildlife populations, particularly in Southeast Asia,\u201d Sunarto said.<\/p>\n Tiger conservationist Erlinda C. Kartika said human-tiger interactions in West Sumatra has also been driven by habitat loss, dwindling prey and landslides that may have disrupted tiger movement.<\/p>\n The IUCN, the global wildlife authority, estimates\u00a0fewer than 600 Sumatran tigers remain\u00a0in the wild, underscoring how snares pose a critical threat to the survival of the world\u2019s rarest tiger subspecies.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether with law enforcement officers we will conduct patrols and enforcement operations, confiscate illegal snares, and enforce the law against perpetrators,\u201d said the BKSDA\u2019s Ade.<\/p>\n Figel, J.J., Safriansyah, R., Baabud, S.F. & Herman, Z. (2023). Snaring in a stronghold: Poaching and bycatch of critically endangered tigers in northern Sumatra, Indonesia.\u00a0Biological Conservation,<\/em>\u00a0286,<\/em>\u00a0110274. doi:10.1016\/j.biocon.2023.110274<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/06\/25125251\/evakuasi-harimau-sumatra-di-Palupuah-Agam-22-Mei-2026_Dokumentasi-BKSDA-SUmbar.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
Renewed attention on snares<\/strong><\/h2>\n
To the rescue<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Snare tactics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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