snare trapped baby elephant dies

A baby, one-year-old, Sumatran elephant has died after losing half its trunk to a  snare trap set by poachers in Indonesia.

The villagers in the town of Aceh Jaya found the calf and brought to conservation agency to be treated.

The conservation officials said they tried to save its life by amputating its trunk, but the calf succumbed to an infection from its injuries two days later.

“We could not save it because the injury was severe and infected, We did our best to help” Agus Arianto head of the Aceh Natural Resources Conservation Agency said.

Sumatran elephant is considered a critically endangered species due to rapid rates of deforestation in its natural habitat of Borneo and Sumatra.

Male elephants are especially vulnerable to poachers because of their highly-prized tusks, which are often sold on the illegal ivory market.