Nature’s cry for help

AN uninvited visitor came to my house recently.

A long-tailed macaque to be exact, and no, I don’t live on a landed property, my home is an 11th floor apartment. The monkey climbed 11 stories, entering through an open window and ransacked my kitchen.

The incident (mine was not the only home “visited” on the day) prompted the joint management board to take preventive measures – installation of barbed wires in areas where the monkey could get access.

A primate intrusion isn’t exactly new but one that scales 11 floors to get scraps is unusual. I am not a primatologist, but my non-expert conclusion for this behaviour would be a disturbance in their natural habitat.

My apartment is directly opposite the Bukit Kiara forest reserve and for a number of months now the park within the reserve has been disturbed.

The National Landscape Department has embarked on major upgrading works at the federal park, leading to a displacement of wildlife in the area.

Monkeys are not the only animals which have been “uprooted” by these works.

I have seen monitor lizards, some of them a metre and half in length in the vicinity with increasing frequency. Sadly, I have seen quite a number end up as roadkill.

My retelling of this “monkey business” is timely because yesterday was the International Day for Biological Diversity.

Harmony with nature and sustainable development was the theme of the 2025 edition and in the Malaysian context it could not be more apt.

Our country is blessed with some of the most diverse wildlife anywhere in the world. And a sizeable number of these species are either on the threatened or endangered conservation status lists. Yet, time and time again we have failed to preserve Malaysia’s flora and fauna.

Many of these animals on the conservation list have become displaced in the name of development.

And the results are devastating. With increasing frequency, we hear of animals that are victims of road accidents – through no fault of their own – these human-wildlife conflict has dangerous consequences for the humans involved but usually leaves the animals dead or maimed.

I am still traumatised by the death of the elephant calf on Mothers Day at the Gerik-Jeli highway.

In the fatal accident, the calf strayed on to the highway and was hit by a lorry.

It was heartbreaking to see the mother elephant’s reaction. It attacked the lorry and was eventually sedated by Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) officers before being relocated.

The Gerik-Jeli stretch on the East-West Highway is known for wildlife crossings, especially elephants, with signboards reminding drivers to slow down.

According to Perhilitan, many of such incidences are linked to recent deforestation or land-use change that leads to habitat fragmentation.

“The reduction in habitat size compels wildlife to encroach into adjacent human-modified landscapes. This fragmentation forces wildlife to cross roads to reach other patches to access essential resources such as food, water, shelter and mating opportunities,” the department told The Star.

The pictures on social media of the mother elephant seen grieving by her fatally injured calf have touched many people and led to growing calls to better protect the country’s wildlife.

But there must be a sense of urgency here. The statistics from Perhilitan are alarming.

The Asian Elephant isn’t the only endangered large mammal that has been struck down on our roads.

The Malayan tapir, sun bear, black panther and the Malayan tiger have all been victims of vehicle-related accidents.

In fact, an average of two tapirs are killed each month nationwide. Considering that there are only 700-800 Malayan tapirs remaining in the wild, this is downright alarming.

All five of these large mammal species are facing serious habitat loss, and while all of them are endangered, one is critically endangered – there are fewer than 150 Malayan tigers in the wild.

There’s a very real possibility that this species will disappear in the next five years. Facing unprecedented threats, these magnificent predators could soon go the way of the Sumatran rhino, which went extinct in 2019.

It is crucial that the federal government takes urgent, necessary steps. Uncontrolled deforestation is a major concern and in this respect, state governments, Kelantan in particular, must bear some of the blame.

But as far as preventing roadkill is concerned, there must be a way where we can co-exist with wildlife habitats.

Education campaigns, increased warning signage, lowering speed limits, improved lighting for better visibility at night, installation of railings on roadsides, these are just some of the steps mooted by Perhilitan.

All the above may help in prime habitat or ecologically sensitive areas, but one way of preventing accidents with animals on these roads would be to build eco-viaducts, which are essentially purpose-built animal crossings over or below highways.

These animal crossings are common in other countries and have shown drastic reductions in human-wildlife accidents.

In Malaysia, West Coast Expressway consulted Perhilitan to build its own “ecological wildlife culvert” at the Bubu Forest Reserve near Kuala Kangsar where the new coastal highway intersects.

The cost of building these viaducts on the East-West Highway may be prohibitive, but what price can you put on saving these magnificent wildlife species which have always been associated with our country?