JOHOR BARU: The lack of prey in its natural habitat may have pushed a tiger to roam widely before reaching Felda Ulu Tebrau here.
Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) president Vincent Chow said there were reasons to believe that the tiger, which has already mauled three 100kg cows in Felda Ulu Tebrau, was searching for food.
“The tiger might have come down from the Panti forest in Kota Tinggi, which is the nearest jungle to Felda Ulu Tebrau.
“We have been carrying out research at the Panti forest, known as the gateway to Malaysia’s tropical forests, over the last two years as it has a lot of flora and fauna.
“However, in our research, we noticed that the number of wild boars in the area has been dwindling since October last year, which could be due to the African swine fever,” he said when contacted yesterday.
He said this might have forced the tiger to look for food elsewhere.
The Panti forest area and Felda Ulu Tebrau are about 50km apart.
“Felda Ulu Tebrau is an ideal hunting ground for the tiger as there are settlers rearing cows there.
“The tiger has already mauled three cows in the area so far and it will strike again. Hopefully, the big cat will leave the area soon and return to the forest,” he said.
Based on the prey count, Chow estimates the tiger to be a large one weighing between 180kg and 200kg.
He expressed concern that poachers would take the opportunity to hunt the animal and called for greater security within and around Felda Ulu Tebrau.
He also urged the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to invite non-governmental organisations and tiger experts to help locate the animal.
“Capturing the tiger and relocating it to a new environment will cause more stress to it, especially if there are other tigers in the area, as it is a very territorial animal,” he added.
On Saturday, the tiger’s presence in Felda Ulu Tebrau – the first time in almost 60 years – got settlers worried about their safety.
Over the past two weeks, three cows are believed to have been mauled by the apex predator within the Felda settlement, which is about 20km from the city centre.
Village chief Ab Jalil Sahlan said the first incident occurred five days before Hari Raya when an adult cow was mauled, followed by another on April 20.
“The latest was discovered on Tuesday with its neck ripped apart.
“Each of these cows weighs about 100kg, so the predator is very likely a tiger.
“This is the first time that the village has experienced such an incident,” he added.
Ab Jalil said before Felda Ulu Tebrau was opened in 1960s, there were tigers in the area as it was a thick jungle back then.
He said Perhilitan and the Civil Defence Force had deployed personnel to the settlement.
Johor Perhilitan director Aminuddin Jamin confirmed that the Felda Ulu Tebrau management had lodged a report about the tiger last Wednesday.
“Perhilitan has sent a team to carry out further checks.
“We are assessing the situation. If the signs show that the predator is lurking in the area, then we will set up traps to capture the animal,” he said.
He also urged the Felda settlers and those living nearby to take precautionary measures and avoid going to secluded places alone.
