Five Indonesian poachers have been arrested for killing two Sumatran tigers, one of the most critically endangered tiger subspecies with a remaining population that numbers about 400. The animals are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) red list. What makes the story more tragic is that both tigers were pregnant, with four fetuses killed in addition to their mothers.

Eduward Hutapea, a local Environment and Forestry Law Enforcement chief, said that four men and one woman were arrested in two raids carried out by police in villages in Riau province’s Pelalawan district. A tip from villagers led to the Saturday arrests.

The police were able to confiscate the preserved fetuses and a portion of tiger skin from an adult tiger. Hutapea also said that police were investigating to see if a larger syndicate of illegal traders had anything to do with this incident.

The IUCN Red List was established in 1964 and now is the world’s most comprehensive source on the conservation status of animals, plants and even fungi. The Red List contains more than 100,000 species, with 28,000 of those threatened with extinction including amphibians, birds, conifer (trees), reef-building corals and mammals. The IUCN hopes to increase the number of evaluated species to fill in some missing gaps as in insects and aquatic creatures.

The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of the six types of tigers, but it can still reach 300 lbs. and grow to a nose to tail length of 8 feet. They live only on the island of Sumatra and live solitary nocturnal lives. The only time they live in groups is when a mother is taking care of her tiger cubs. The fur of a Sumatran tiger is a darker orange than other tiger species and has a unique stripe pattern.

Sumatran tiger
In this representational image, a Sumatran tiger comes out of the water in its enclosure during a summer day at the Los Angeles Zoo, Aug. 13, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

The “experts” estimate that out of Earth’s approximately 2 million species, anywhere from 200 to 2,000 go extinct every year. Every schoolchild is taught about the Dodo bird going extinct in 1681. The father of the theory of evolution was Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) and his simple argument was that all extinction is selective and when a species can no longer compete with other species, it will die out.

The tragedy is that while the Sumatran tiger is likely doomed to extinction, as all living things are, they cannot “compete” against poachers with weapons and a financial motivation to kill. It will take more than a scarlet-colored list from a well-meaning organization to stop these types of killings.

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