(MY) letters on man-beast conflict

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New Straits Times » Letters - Tragic outcome of man-beast conflict

July 31:

THE item " Why tiger turned killer " (NST, July 24) once again highlighted the

tragic outcome

of the conflict between man and beast. The man-eating tigress in Jeli reminded

me of a

similar incident in Perak in 1998 (NST, June 27, 1998) where the callous

shooting of

predators resulted in the unnecessary deaths of both humans and animals.

 

The Malaysian tiger, Panthera Tigris corbetti, also known as the In-dochinese

tiger, is

among the five surviving tiger sub-species in the wild. The others are the Amur

or Siberian,

the Bengal, the South Chinese, and the Sumatran tiger. All the tigers are

threatened with

extinction.

 

Being at the top of the food pyramid, the tiger is an indicator of the delicate

balance of our

rainforest ecosystem. When tigers can no longer find their natural prey, this

implies that our

forests are in trouble. Policy makers and the general population must be made

aware of the

urgent need to conserve our natural heritage.

 

Remember, God gave us this planet and its inhabitants only once. God did not

resurrect the

dodo after it had been taken away from the face of the earth.

 

Siti Jamiah Mohamad Yob

Kuala Lumpur

 

Have pity on animals

 

IT is with great sadness that we hear of another tigress being shot and killed.

In this case,

the sadness is worse, as the tigress was shot a few weeks earlier through the

jaw.

 

Imagine the agony of a mother with a broken jaw having to nurse two cubs. So,

what do we

expect the animal to do? Eat grass? Let us all be more compassionate,

especially those in

authority and holding powerful guns.

 

Datuk Dr Salleh is absolutely right that we should have tried all methods of

capturing the

tigeress with the two cubs. No killing should have been allowed.

 

The animal kingdom and plants can well survive without humans, but we cannot

survive

without them. Why then are we destroying them and their habitat, and

consequently

destroying ourselves? We should be the guardians of all the animals and plants

on Earth.

 

OOI KAO YANG

Johor Baru Work to save, not kill

 

IT is a shame that the tigress was killed, leaving two cubs helpless and

roaming in the

jungle with grave doubts over their survival.

 

I do not understand why the Department could not tranquillise the tigeress and

put it in a

zoo. It is about time the department worked on the basis of saving instead of

killing.

 

HASSAN ABU BAKAR

Kuala Lumpur