HULU SELANGOR: A total of 112 Malayan tapirs were killed in road accidents nationwide between 2020 and last year.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, said the latest data from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) shows that only around 700 to 800 Malayan tapirs remain in their natural habitats.
He said the ministry has implemented various initiatives and innovations to address this issue.
“We have installed yellow transverse bars, LED wildlife crossing signboards and solar amber lights in Gerik, Perak and Kedah.
“We are also open to expanding these measures to other areas, including in Selangor, where cases of tapir deaths have been reported,“ he told reporters after officiating the World Tapir Day celebration at the Wildlife Conservation Centre in Sungai Dusun, Kuala Kubu Baharu, here today.
World Tapir Day is celebrated on April 27 each year to raise public awareness of the importance of conserving the species, as well as to recognise ongoing and past conservation efforts.
Commenting on attempts to breed the Malayan tapir, Nik Nazmi said the ministry, through Perhilitan, will continue to intensify conservation efforts through both in-situ (in natural habitats) and ex-situ (outside natural habitats, such as conservation centres) approaches.
“In addition, habitat protection will be strengthened through the construction of wildlife crossings at the Sungai Deka Ecological Corridor in Terengganu, the Sungai Yu Ecological Corridor in Pahang and the Gerik Ecological Corridor.
“We have already begun work on the construction of the National Tapir Conservation Centre at the state park in the Kenaboi Forest Reserve, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan,” he said.
