Malaysia: After tapir sighting, Wildlife Dept says more signboards needed on LPT2 to warn motorists

ZARINA ABDULLAH New Straits Times 15 Jan 17;

KUALA TERENGGANU: Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) has been urged to set up more signboards along the East Coast Highway 2 (LPT2) to alert motorists about the presence of the protected animals on the highway.

State Wildlife and National Parks Department director Mohd Hasdi Husin said the signboards are important to ensure safety of both motorists and the protected animals.

Hasdi said moreover, the department also discovered there are some parts of the fencing along the highway that were damaged by unknown parties.

"The fencing is in dire need of repairs. This is to avoid wild animals in encroaching into the LPT2 area," he said.

Hasdi was commenting on the sighting of a tapir at KM321 of the LPT2 yesterday evening.

"We have been informed about the sighting of the animal by LLM around 7pm and our team arrived at the location one hour later," he said.

"Our officers were only able to stumble upon the animal's tracks leading into the jungle nearby," he said, adding that five officers went to the area again today to monitor the situation.

"We hope that the public will inform us immediately, if they spot any protected animal such as tiger, elephant, bear, or tapir along the LPT2." he said.