And yet, sadly, the tiger finds itself to be in a dire situation in Malaysia. To be blunt, the Malayan tiger (Scientific name: Panthera tigris jacksoni) is on the verge of extinction.
On January 07, there is one tiger less because one was shot dead by officers of the Kelantan Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan). That’s right.
Fifty-nine-year-old Orang Asli, Anek Along was mauled to death by a tiger at Kampung Sau, near Pos Bihai in Gua Musang, Kelantan. Police said when Anek left his house momentarily and did not return, his daughter went out to check and found bloodstains nearby. She raised the alarm and villagers joined her in searching for Anek, according to media reports. Upon finding a tiger near Anek’s body, some of them threw spears at it and the animal fled.
A Perhilitan team were dispatched to pursue the tiger some three hours later. According to their Kelantan director Mohamad Hafid Rohani, his men subsequently shot and killed the male tiger, which weighed about 120kg, because it ran towards them. The decision to open fire, he said officiously, was in line with Section 52 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 as the animal was a danger to human life.
I’m not intending to pass judgment on the decision of the Perhilitan officers who killed the tiger as I don’t really know how bad the situation was when they confronted the tiger or how pressured they were to resolve the matter.
However, there has been criticism of the way they handled the tiger, chiefly from the Orang Asli themselves.
The Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Kelantan even submitted a memorandum to the prime minister on January 12 urging him to, among other things, check deforestation and encroachment into the natural habitats of wild animals.
Pos Ber village chief Nasir Dollah was quoted as saying that rather than killing the tiger, Perhilitan officers should have consulted the local community to seek a better solution.
He said the officers initially hurled firecrackers towards the tiger but that this was not the best option available. He discounted the theory put forward by the authorities that the tiger could have become aggressive because it had been infected with rabies or canine distemper virus which causes confusion and a change in behavior.
Nasir didn’t mince his words when he said the real reason the tiger had come into the village was because of encroachment into its natural habitat.
Replying in the media, Perhilitan’s Hafid asked how else were they to scare off the animal if not by letting off firecrackers or firing warning shots. He said his men had no option but to open fire when the tiger advanced.
Why not fire tranquilisers, he was asked. Hafid, noting the tranquiliser would have taken time to be effective, said it was too late to use them as the tiger was already heading towards his men.
Unfortunately, his explanation won’t stop people from seeing it as another example of the abject failure of a protector to protect – and this killing is a tragic outcome.
Perhilitan must urgently re-examine their management of the critically endangered tiger – even holding dialogues with the Orang Asli who live nearest to wildlife and who would better know their ways, as well as to fully consult animal experts and conservationists – if they haven’t yet.
And for the government to put in place better checks against encroachment into the natural habitats of wild animals such as the tiger. This would be a good time to prevent indiscriminate logging and to review policies that allow the clearing of forests for planting oil palm, or for whatever other purpose.
The establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Task Force (MyTTF), whose first meeting the prime minister himself chaired on January 10, is a welcome move.
However, getting menteris besar and/or state executive councillors responsible for land matters to sit on the MyTTF is not enough. State governments must be really serious about fauna protection and ecosystem; otherwise, conservation efforts will fail because land matters fall under their purview. If they put money above everything, all will be lost.
[I wonder if it will go the way of the 2009 National Tiger Conservation Action Plan which had the goal of doubling the tiger population from about 500 then to 1,000 by the year 2020].
Certainly, the intention is there! Malaysia’s new tiger conservation plan envisages strengthening and maintaining animal habitats through “sustainable land use management” and stopping any encroachment and poaching activities.
I can't help being skeptical. Where have we heard all this before?
Please, no more talking – let’s do it! LET'S SAVE THE TIGER!
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