Perhilitan investigating if nabbed tiger caused deaths in Gerik, Jeli

Kelantan’s Department of Wildlife Protection and National Parks (Perhilitan) is conducting a detailed investigation to confirm if a tiger caught yesterday caused the death of two men in Gerik, Perak and Jeli, Kelantan (3km apart) recently.

Its director Mohamad Hafid Rohani said the tiger will be taken to the National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Sungkai, Perak, for further action.

“When the capture was made, the tiger in question was in a healthy condition and based on preliminary observations, the wild animal is believed to be approximately eight to 10 years old.

“A trap was laid following a (second) tiger attack that caused the death of a Myanmar man at Thek Him Vegetables Resources Chili Farm Batu 18 along the East-West Highway in Jeli on Wednesday,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Earlier, media reported that the first incident happened on Tuesday when a local man Adnan Ismail, 54, died in a dawn attack outside workers’ quarters in a forested area at KM79.2 JRTB Gerik-Jeli in Bersia, near Gerik.

Commenting further, Hafid said with the success of this capture, it is hoped that the farm workers’ anxiety will be eased. However, they need to be vigilant and go out to work in groups, not alone.

According to records, there have been six cases of injury and death from tiger attacks in Kelantan in the past three years.

Earlier, Perak Perhilitan director Yusoff Shariff confirmed that a tiger yesterday entered a trap installed by Perhilitan after photos and videos shared by the public via Facebook on the capture of the critically endangered beast went viral.

- Bernama

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