Sultan - Don't kill escaped panther.

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Sultan - Don't kill escaped panther.

 

05/30/2002

The Straits Times (Singapore)

© 2002 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

 

It is an endangered species, says Sultan of Johor. Following his order,

search teams set up cages to catch the animal

 

JOHOR BARU - The Sultan of Johor has ordered police and wildlife

officers not to kill the black panther that escaped from the Johor zoo

six days ago.

Johor Mentri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman said the Sultan issued the

directive yesterday after taking into consideration that the panther is

an endangered species.

 

'We have been instructed not to kill or harm the animal as the Sultan is

very concerned that it is not easy to find this type of endangered

species,' he said.

 

Following the order, the search team changed its 'shoot to kill'

strategy by switching from guns to cages baited with live chickens in a

bid to lure the missing animal, which is believed to be 'hungry and

highly agitated'.

 

Earlier on, the authorities had said they would shoot the cat with live

bullets because tranquillisers were deemed unsafe as the panther 'may

become violent' given that it would take some time for the sedative to

take effect.

 

District police chief Assistant Commissioner Hashim Yusof, who heads the

search team, said a new strategy has been adopted to allow zoo personnel

and rangers from the State Wildlife and National Park Department to trap

the animal.

 

'They will set up traps to capture the animal,' he said.

 

Zoo personnel were seen yesterday setting up three metal cages while the

department installed another two at the perimeter of the zoo compound.

 

National Park Department director Rahim Ahmad said yesterday live

chickens would be used as bait.

 

'We will put two cages next to the fencing of the zoo as we believe it

is the path used by the animal. The zoo will also install three smaller

cages.

 

'We hope that the panther will be trapped tonight,' he said.

 

The authorities have also narrowed down their search to the forested

area near the Istana Garden following the discovery of the big cat's

claw marks yesterday in the area.

 

The search team has also scaled down its efforts. The Orang Asli team

and its trekker dogs were no longer involved in the search.

 

The panther, which escaped last Thursday, was kept in a compound

surrounded by a 6-m high concrete wall with steel bars on the top.

 

Meanwhile, the zoo has reported losses worth tens of thousands of

ringgit due to its temporary closure to locate and recapture the missing

panther.

 

The closure has dealt a financial blow to the zoo, which relies on

public and school holidays to earn entrance charges of RM2 (S$0.95) per

person.

 

The income is used to pay the food bill of some 100 species of animals

kept in the zoo. The monthly operational and maintenance cost adds up to

an estimated RM60,000.

 

Zoo manager Zakaria Razali said the zoo barely makes enough to feed the

animals while its administrative cost is subsidised by the state

government.

 

'The closure has really strained the zoo financially but we have no

choice as it concerns public safety,' he said.

 

The 5-ha zoo, one of the oldest in the country, was built in 1928 and

underwent a RM100,000 facelift last year to draw more tourists to Johor

state. - New Straits Times, The Star/AsiaNews Network.

 

 

 

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