Tapir Found Wandering In Dungun Town
A tapir was found roaming at the shop lots, possibly looking for food.
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On 15 February, a video of a tapir roaming around the shop lots at Bandar Sura Gate, Dungun has gone viral on social media.
15 Februari – Susulan seekor tapir sesat mencari makanan sekitar Bandar Sura Gate, Dungun pagi tadi.
— Berita RTM (@beritartm) February 15, 2023
Haiwan berkenaan berjaya ditangkap pegawai PERHILITAN Terengganu dengan bantuan orang awam di dalam parit Kampung Kubang Miang, Kuala Dungun.
Video / Foto : Orang Awam#RTM pic.twitter.com/sK6pcaa45Q
This is not the first time wild animals are seen to be lost and roaming in residential areas.
The male tapir in the video had supposedly been spotted wandering since yesterday morning.
Sura assemblyman Wan Hapandi Wan Nik said in a Facebook post said the male tapir was eventually captured in Kampung Kubang Miang.
“Dengar kata 1 Dungun doh dia pusing,” he remarked. (I heard this tapir had been going around all of Dungun.)
Riuh Dungun hari ni dengan kehadiran Cik Tapir. Kesian dia sesat mari mana doktahu. Dengar kata 1 Dungun doh dia…
Posted by YB Cikgu Haji Wan Hapandi Wan Nik on Tuesday, 14 February 2023
Weighing some 250 kilogrammes, the male tapir had been roaming the streets before it fell into a drain in Kampung Kubang Miang.
Members of the civil defence force (APM) with the help of villagers, extricated the tapir from the drain and handed the animal over to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN), as reported by Kosmo.
Endangered Species
The only tapir species located in Asia is the Malayan tapir, and it is also the largest.
Its current range extends from the Malaysian Peninsula to Myanmar, Thailand, and the island of Sumatra.
Hunting, habitat loss and fragmentation, traffic fatalities, and bi-catch by snare hunters are its main threats.
In order to create more effective conservation strategies, the Malay Tapir Conservation Project (MTCP) and other scientific projects are intensively investigating tapir behaviour.
The Malaysian government is also making efforts to safeguard the animal. In accordance with the organisation’s current ten-year economic development strategy, money has been set aside for the animal’s conservation. But a stronger dedication to protecting their forest home is essential to the survival of the Malayan tapir.
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