KOTA KINABALU: Tabin, where Malaysia’s biggest wildlife reserve is located, remains vulnerable to illegal hunting activities despite efforts to protect it from poachers.
A week-long joint operation in the area, including the 122,000ha Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu, found active signs of illegal activities related to hunting and the wildlife trade.
Dubbed Op Khazanah, the swoop ended yesterday with the discovery of 62 snares, 51 bullet shells and a broken firearm.
Five deer antlers, a banteng horn and the skeletal remains of elephants were also found along with the arrest of a person who had possession of 22 birds without a permit.
The operation was a joint collaboration between the General Operations Force (PGA), the Sabah Forestry Department, the Sabah Wildlife Department and WWF-Malaysia.
Over the weekend, Tabin came under the spotlight following the death of the nation’s last Sumatran rhino, Iman, at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary within the reserve.
The operation, which started on Nov 19, involved 69 individuals who were divided into five teams.
They were deployed at different points in Tabin in an active pursuit of poachers to combat illegal wildlife crimes.
Each team was tasked to sweep their designated points, where they gathered evidence of poaching which included weapons, traps and abandoned campsites.
Personnel from both the Wildlife Department and WWF-Malaysia also scoured the area for wildlife tracks to determine the presence of species.
At the closing ceremony of the operation, PGA officer superintendent Toipi Lamat said the focus on poaching aside, they also took the opportunity to train in Counter Insurgency Warfare (CIW).
“Ultimately, this collaboration was a necessary measure to close the gaps that exist between agencies in Sabah,” Toipi said.
State Wildlife director Augustine Tuuga said the collaboration marked the beginning of a new and enhanced way to combat wildlife crimes.
“Moving forward, numerous joint patrolling efforts will be conducted as a result of this collaboration,” he added.
Sabah chief conservator of forests Datuk Mashor Mohd Jaini said the responsibility to protect the forests was not the department’s alone.
He said all agencies and the public also had to play their part.
“The recent success of the previous joint op that led to the capture of wildlife crime offenders in Pitas and Sugut was a result of a fruitful collaboration between the two agencies,” he said, in his speech read on his behalf by Donatus Loisang.
The PROTECT team – a special anti-poaching arm under the Sabah Forestry Department – will continue to patrol the borders of Tabin and other forests in Sabah.
The collaboration involving the PGA, Forestry Department and Wildlife department was a positive sign in the effort to tackle wildlife crimes, WWF-Malaysiahead of conservation Sabah, Dr Robecca Jumin said.
“WWF-Malaysia hopes that such collaboration will become the norm in the future so that we can effectively stop poaching activities in our forests,” she added.