Tapirs losing out

BENDUL, the Malayan tapir, is a sorry sight. Unlike the other tapirs at the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre which have hefty, robust bodies, Bendul is almost all skin and bones. Her coat is dull and grey, not a healthy shine like that on the others. Her ribcage shows under her skin and her body is badly scarred.

She was named after the place where she was found loitering in late September, a village in Ulu Bendul some 16km from Seremban in Negri Sembilan, and arrived at the centre wounded and starving.

"After trapping her, we had planned to return her to the forest but when we saw that she had a bullet wound which was infested with maggots, we decided to bring her here," says Mahathir Mohamad who heads the Sungai Dusun centre, located in the upper reaches of Selangor about 90 minutes' drive from Kuala Lumpur.

From the tell-tale size and shape of the wound, wildlife officers believe Bendul had been shot by wild boar hunters, probably mistakenly. "Villagers say they have seen the tapir with two young. We searched but could not find the juveniles. We believe they have also been shot," says Mahathir.

At Sungai Dusun, a 4,330ha sprawl of protected peatswamp and lowland dipterocarp forest near the Selangor-Perak boundary which is both a rescue and captive breeding centre, Bendul is seen chomping on the leaves of the mengkirai, nangka and mahang trees which keepers have collected from the forest. Soon, she will be fed nutrition-laden pellets to fatten her up. At the centre, she joins six other tapirs - four of which are captive-breds and two, also rescued tapirs.

Bendul is the latest statistic in a growing list of displaced tapirs. As forests give way to human settlements, plantations and industrial development, and are fragmented by roads, tapirs are crowded out. They now number only between 1,100 and 1,500 in Peninsular Malaysia, and can no longer be found in Borneo.

The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has recorded an upward trend in tapir displacements: five cases in 2006, 25 in 2007, 39 in 2008, 22 in 2009 and 41 in 2010. Of the 142 cases seen during that period, the majority (95) were of tapirs which had ventured out of their normal habitats into villages, plantations, logging areas, forest fringes and roadsides. Fifteen were roadkills, 12 were wounded tapirs which eventually died from the injuries, and 20 were tapirs sent to Sungai Dusun, Zoo Melaka and other protected areas.

The cases mostly occurred in Pahang (46) and Johor (32), followed by Negri Sembilan (21), Selangor (17) and Terengganu (15). 

Resource article:  The Star/Asia News Network

Interpol Launches Campaign to Protect Threatened Tiger

International police organization Interpol said it was imperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still be found, including Indonesia, work together to combat wildlife crime. (EPA Photo)

Hanoi. Interpol on Wednesday launched a new campaign to coordinate the global fight against tiger poaching, warning that failure to protect the endangered cats would have economic and social repercussions.

The international police organization said it was imperative that the 13 nations where tigers can still be found, including Indonesia, work together to combat wildlife crime.

David Higgins, manager of Interpol’s environment crime program, said the extinction of the tiger would impact not only biodiversity but the “economic stability and security stability” of countries where they are now found.

“The communities, the nations will lose confidence in their governments, and their good governance and their rule of law to be able to protect an iconic species such as the tiger from criminality,” he said in Vietnam.

Interpol’s new Project Predator is designed to help coordinate efforts of police, customs and wildlife officials in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

“Illegal trade and trafficking in tiger parts and products is rampant across international borders, making enforcement of laws against it a challenge,” Interpol said in a statement released at its annual general meeting in Hanoi.

Project Predator, which has US, British and World Bank funding, will also share information with conservation agencies in an effort to raise awareness.

Higgins said law enforcement was “not the only answer” and greater education and poverty reduction were also needed.

Tiger numbers have been devastated by poaching and loss of habitat in the last century, falling from an estimated 100,000 in 1900 to fewer than 3,500 now, Interpol said.

The big cats, which are hunted for their fur, bones and other parts, are expected to be extinct by 2022 if left unprotected, according to wildlife group WWF.

Deputy head of Vietnam’s department of environmental crimes, Major General Vu Hong Vuong, told reporters that the country had more than 110 tigers — although 80 of these were kept in captivity.

“We have detected several cases of tiger trafficking from Thailand, through Laos, Myanmar to Vietnam and then to China. We need the cooperation from police of other countries in the protection of wild animals, especially tigers,” he said.

Resource article: Agence France-Presse

Perhilitan Seizes 449 Various Wildlife

ALOR SETAR, 27 OCTOBER, 2011: The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) seized 449 various types of wildlife, believed to be for export, during a raid on a house at Kampung Kandis, Kodiang, about 40 kilometres from here, yesterday.

According to Kuala Lumpur Perhilitan enforcement officer Celescoriano Razond, a total of 302 Asian cobras (Naja Naja), 146 Malayan box turtles (Coura Amboinesis) and a long-tailed macaque (Macaca Fascicularis) were seized.

The seizure of the exotic animals was made in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), he told reporters at the Perhilitan office in Bukit Pinang, near here, today.

Celescoriano said the animals were found locked under the house owned by a Malay man in his 40s, as well as at the front and backyard of the house for the past three weeks.

"The exotic animals, owned by a Chinese man in his 30s, believed to be the employer of the Malay man, were kept temporarily to be sent overseas," he said, adding that the animals were bought by the Chinese man from local people in Perlis.

He said both men were detained at the Jitra Police station lock-up for further investigation.

Keeping the male Asian cobras, the male Malayan box turtles, and the long-tailed macaque is an offence and offenders could be charged under Section 60(1)(a) of the Wildlife Conservation Act (Act 716), which carries a fine of up to RM50,000 and imprisonment not exceeding two years, or both.

Celescoriano said if the Asian cobras and Malayan box turtles were females, the offence comes under Section 62 of the same Act, which carries a fine of up to RM100,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

Resource article: Bernama

Perhilitan defends spate of raids

PETALING JAYA: The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) has refuted claims from unhappy zoo and animal park operators that its recent spate of raids and animal seizures were “too fast and too drastic”.

It fired back in a statement yesterday, saying some zoo operators had failed to rectify their shortcomings despite being told to do so during Perhilitan's pre-zoo audit.

This included wildlife care, safety and record-keeping of every animal under their care.

“Most of the improvements can be done immediately. However, many of our comments are not acted upon accordingly,” it said.

It added that there was nothing new about its move to seize improperly-managed wildlife in zoos and parks.

Perhilitan reminded zoo and park operators to “buck up” in managing their wildlife. “We are here to safeguard the wildlife and not to wait and see. The main purpose of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 is to monitor how zoos in Malaysia are managed and operated,” it said.

According to its statistics, 192 animals were seized this year from various premises, including zoos, for failure to comply with the conditions set for keeping wildlife.

The Star reported on Monday that the Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria had criticised the department for having no clear communication on the new Act or its guidelines.

Its president Kevin Lazarus had said Perhilitan should provide a written minimum standard for operators to comply with on animal welfare standards.

In response, Perhilitan insisted it had provided clear guidance to zoo operators since early last year.

Resource article: The Star Online

Wildlife Dept awaiting approval for issuance of new licenses

KUANTAN: The issuance of protected species ownership permits under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 has yet to be fully enforced even though it has been three months since the cut-off date.
Pahang National Parks and Wildlife Department (Perhilitan) director Khairiah Mohd Shariff said the department was still waiting for the green light from the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to implement the issuance of new permits.

 

Endangered: A filepic of Mohamad Azim, 27, with his Murai Batu at a bird exhibition in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan

“For the time being, we are only renewing licenses based on the old Acts as the new format and fees have not been finalised yet,” she said in an interview with The Star recently.
Khairiah said there should be no problem for those who already own licenses as long as they renew it.
Only those who possess protected species without licenses will be charged in court.

“If owners fail to renew their licenses, we can also charge them on technical grounds,” she said.
It was reported earlier that the final day for those who had not applied for the permit was on June 26 following a grace period of six months after the Act came into effect.
Individuals who own or purchase wild animals listed in the Act’s protected species list were required to get an ownership permit.

Khairiah also said microchip tags, scanners and systems for the implementation of the new permit had been prepared. “Once the Act comes into full enforcement, each animal registered with us will have their individual identification in our database. “We will then monitor and conduct enforcement throughout the year, she said. 

 

Resource article:  thestar.com.my