Malayan Tiger Dies After Poachers Shot Him 8 Times In Terengganu
Perhilitan found old bullet wounds on the tiger, indicating that he had been shot several times before, too.
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A male Malayan Tiger, named 'Awang Rasau', has died from the injuries he sustained after he was shot eight times by poachers in Terengganu
The Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) in a Facebook post stated that the Malayan tiger's death was reported on Friday noon 5 March.
The male tiger, aged 15, was being treated at the Universiti Putra Malaysia Veterinary Hospital.
According to the Facebook post by Perhilitan, 'Awang Rasau' died due to nerve complications, excretory system failure, and bacterial infection from the bullet wound on his hind legs.
Image via Rosli Ilham/New Straits Times
The bullets had also injured his lungs and nervous system, Perhilitan said. The damage left the 160kg tiger to be partially paralysed.
"Our early checks showed that one shot fired by an individual or illegal hunter had hit his spinal cord. That could have possibly caused his nerves to fail and paralyse both his hind legs," the department's director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim was quoted as saying by a Malay daily last week.
He could only move using his front legs.
Awang Rasau's health began to worsen on 3 March and Perhilitan tried to save its life by seeking further treatment and advice from experts at the veterinary hospital on Thursday, 4 March.
The tiger was rescued from a palm oil plantation in Felda Kerteh 3 in Terengganu after he was spotted by residents on 21 February
15 personnel from the Dungun and Kemaman branches of Perhilitan rescued him at 11.30am on 22 February and then transferred him to the National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Perak for treatment.
Initially, 'Awang Rasau' showed positive developments.
His appetite increased with him being able to lift his head and change body position.
The tiger had been shot several times before, too. The old wounds were said to be not serious.
Last month, Malaysia's tiger conservation efforts received the global spotlight, following which WWF-Malaysia said that it looks forward to fostering closer collaboration to conserve our natural heritage:
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