Indonesian conservation officers performed a necropsy, or animal autopsy, on a Sumatran tigress found dead in a trap in the province of Riau. <br /><br />The animal was discovered dead on September 26, and brought to the Riau Center for Natural Resource Conservation (BKSDA) for investigation. <br /><br />Four doctors collectively performed the necropsy in Muara Lembu, Riau province the following night on September 27, and discovered several key facts. <br /><br />The tigress was heavily pregnant with two cubs, an eight ounce male, and a 6.5 ounce female, estimated to be delivered two weeks later. <br /><br />The tigress herself was estimated to be four or five years old, and died from a ruptured kidney, likely gained struggling in the snare, which had wrapped lethally around her hindquarters.<br /><br />With only around 400 Sumatran tigers left in the world the species is categorised as critically endangered, making this loss especially devastating.<br /><br />Poaching for body parts, for their uses in traditional medicines or as artefacts, has severely impacted Sumatran tiger populations. <br /><br />Consequently this female's body was buried in a secret location, then covered with cement to prevent scavenging for parts.
