Shrinking home range causing human-wildlife conflict, says MNS president

MELAKA (Bernama): Lately, there has been a lot of news about wild animals such as tigers, elephants and tapir straying into human areas and causing conflict between the two sides.

Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) president Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail (pic) said wild animals needed space to find food, a mate and establish territory.

"Unsystematic forest exploration is shrinking the forest. Human settlements close to animal habitats are having an impact on wildlife home range and forcing the animals to wander into human territory,” he said when contacted by Bernama recently.

Take for example small animals like the easily adaptable monkeys and the conflict that has arisen because they trespass people’s property to forage for food.

Prof Ahmad said to resolve the problem, everyone - particularly the authorities and town planners - must comprehend the concept of sustainable development and give thought to the balance of nature.

In addition to this, he said, agencies such as the Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) Department, the Forestry Department and district councils can help enhance public understanding of wildlife in an area, while legislation should be brought up to date because a lot of things need to be re-evaluated.

He said a review would also address overlapping laws and should be done holistically. - Bernama