The shooting by wildlife rangers of a rare clouded leopard, which caused an outcry from animal activists, was an act of self-defence, an official said today.

A spokesman for the Negri Sembilan state wildlife department told AFP that the 24 kilogramme leopard was "trying to attack" the rangers and shooting it was a last resort.

The rangers had been called in to flush out the animal, an endangered species, after complaints from local villagers last week.

"The officers were not prepared for an attack by the leopard," and were not equipped with tranquiliser guns, the official said.

On Sept 25, a panther weighing 16 kilogrammes was shot dead when rangers set out to capture it after complaints that it was raiding villagers' chicken coops. It was also said to be planning to attack.

The two incidents have caused new concern among activists in the wake of threats by the chief minister of one state, Kelantan, to have all tigers shot after three rubber tappers were killed earlier this year.

Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding said rangers were only allowed to shoot tigers in life-threatening situations and urged them to always equip themselves with tranquillisers. AFP