Tapir ‘checks in’ at hotel

MELAKA: A Malayan tapir wandering about 50km away from its habitat was on the radar of the Wildlife and National Parks Department for two weeks before it “checked in” at a hotel here.

The tapir turned up as an unexpected guest at the Estadia Hotel in Bandar Hilir yesterday, wandering on the premises before it was finally sedated and captured by wildlife officers.

Melaka Perhilitan director Mohd Firrdhaus Mahmood said his team had been on the lookout for the tapir since the middle of last month following sightings reported by villagers.

“Perhilitan was alerted over the series of sightings and game rangers have been mobilised to track it since the second week of December,” he said in an interview.

The animal is believed to have wandered off from its natural habitat along the Negri Sembilan and Melaka border about 50km from here.

It is believed to have been sighted in several villages, including reports of encounters in the Melaka Tengah district.

The captured female tapir weighs about 200kg to 300kg. It will be temporarilyy sent to the Melaka Zoo before being relocated to the Sungkai Wildlife Conservation Centre in Perak.

“There is a possibility of the tapir having strayed into the city in search of food from Asahan before it was spotted by a hotel guest on Sunday,” he added.

Hatten Hotel Worldwide group general manager Datuk Chuck Kassim said the animal was roaming around the hotel when it was spotted at about 9am yesterday.

“It was a truly a New Year surprise for all of us at Hatten Group,” he said.

Several vehicles parked at the hotel were also damaged.

A Melaka Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said the animal was sedated by Perhilitan rangers at about noon. Officials from the Melaka Zoo were also at the site.

The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), also called Asian Tapir, is a species native to Peninsular Malaysia and has been listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 2008.