Precious passenger: Onlookers taking pictures of the sedated male tiger at Ladang Eden in Tapah. — Bernama
TAPAH: An injured tiger has been rescued from a wild boar trap in a plantation here.
An orang asli man Waslostri Usop, 38, was shocked to find the tiger in his trap at Ladang Eden, Batu 10, Jalan Pahang, on Sunday and alerted the police.
Tapah police chief ASP Noor Shahariman Ngah said a team of 25 from the police, Perak Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) and National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Sungkai, responded.
But they had to delay the rescue operation till yesterday because it was already dark when they reached the site.
Perak Perhilitan director Rozidan Mohd Yassin said the rescuers fired a tranquilliser dart at the animal, which was injured on its legs.
He added that the animal was between 14 and 17 years old, and weighed about 170kg.
The is the second incident involving a tiger in the country in about a fortnight.
On Feb 5, a pregnant tiger was killed after it was hit by a vehicle as it crossed the East Coast Expressway 2 in Pahang.
It is believed that there are only about 300 tigers left in the wild in Malaysia.
In Kuala Nerus, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Perhilitan was ready to work with the Malaysian Highway Authority to do a detailed study for the construction of wildlife crossings over highways.
He said the ministry wanted to build the crossings, estimated to cost from RM3mil to RM4mil.
“The Government, through Perhilitan, has decided to create wildlife corridors where animals can move more freely to find food and shelter,” he said after visiting a coastal management project at Pantai Tok Jembal here.
He said wildlife was at risk due to the construction of roads, dams and hydro-electric power plants, and this resulted in elephants and tigers being forced to migrate in search of food and shelter.
