LETTERS: THE news of a tiger killed on the North-South Expressway near Gopeng, Perak, on Nov 8, and the four deaths caused by tigers in Kelantan in the last two months, have brought to the fore once again the human-tiger conflict, and the precarious position of tigers.
In an increasingly deforested Peninsular Malaysia, the Malayan tiger population is down to a possible 150 and the prospect of extinction is staring us in the face.
The authorities should take measures to stop the number of tigers from plummeting.
In India, Russia, China and North Korea, the tiger numbers have started to increase after radical measures were taken to increase the tiger population.
Recent Indian laws outlaw the killing of even small animals, such as rats and snakes, as depletion of any species can interfere with the food chain.
China is strict about animal conservation. The increasing number of Siberian tigers in China, Russia and North Korea can be attributed to punitive laws, more funding and teams of experts.
The Indian Royal Bengal tiger population has grown to about 3,000 due to the dedication of the forest rangers, as well as tough conservation policies that prohibit poaching, poisoning, injuring or killing of the animals.
Indian game rangers have commendable dedication to the tiger conservation programme. They even know the names of tigers' grandparents and their history stretching back to 30 to 40 years.
Why don't we seek Indian expertise to save the tiger population? We should adopt new measures to save the tigers. Here are a few suggestions.
FIRST, road kills can be reduced by identifying nocturnal animal crossings and placing a flashing green or red light at night on the roadside to alert drivers;
SECOND, prey animals need to be increased to increase the health of tigers and cubs;
THIRD, Orang Asli living near tiger reserves should be relocated and prohibited from hunting wild boar, seladang, monkeys, pangolin, deer and other small animals as these are also the prey of tigers;
FOURTH, set up a team comprising wildlife rangers, armed forces personnel, tiger experts and Orang Asli to go deep into forests to do research, set up cameras, pitch tents for a longer stay, tranquillise tigers to know about their health and collect other info;
FIFTH, an annual budget of RM50 million to RM100 million should be set aside for wildlife management and conservation, apart from corporate sponsorships.
A report on wildlife and conservation should be presented to Parliament yearly and members of parliament should take a great interest in reading it.
The government can sponsor a biennial tiger conservation conference to get input from experts, which will benefit local efforts.
If necessary, villagers living near tiger reserves need to be relocated as humans and free-roaming domestic animals are targets for tigers.
Rubber, oil palm and other smallholdings need to be cleared of undergrowth to prevent tiger ambushes; and,
FINALLY, hunting licences should not be issued to hunt wild boar and other animals.
Another threat is climate change. It cannot be predicted how it is going to affect wild animals and their habitats.
V. THOMAS
Sungai Buloh, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times