Wildlife dept looking for tiger spotted at LPT2

PETALING JAYA: The Terengganu Wildlife Department is on the move to capture a tiger that was spotted at Km354 East Coast Expressway Phase II (LPT2), Bukit Besi, Terengganu.
Its director Mohd Hasdi Husin said the attempt to capture the big cat comes after a picture of the tiger resting near the highway went viral on social media.
"We've set traps to catch the protected animal. We fear that the tiger will cross the road and get hit by vehicles on the highway like what happened before as the distance between the tiger and the accident scene is only about 30km.
"Besides fear of getting hit, once the news went viral, the animal is now in danger as it would be hunted by poachers," Mohd Hasdi said.
On February last year, an adult tiger was hit by a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) at Km321.2 of the LPT2 and succumbed to injuries.
The pregnant tiger was believed to had wanted to cross the highway.
Hasdi said the tiger needs to be captured swiftly and transferred to a safer habitat.
"In addition to capturing the tiger and releasing it back to a safer habitat, monitoring should also be done to prevent the animal from being caught by poachers," Mohd Hasdi said.
Mohd Hasdi added there might be other wildlife in the area but urged the public not to make it viral on social media as it will only bring harm to the animals.
"We advise the people who see or come across wild animals on LPT2 to not spread it to the public so that it becomes viral.
"What they should do is contact the Wildlife Department immediately so that action to protect the animals can be taken," Mohd Hasbi said.