PUTRAJAYA: Two Malaysian tapirs will be sent to Japan as part of the Malaysian Tapir Conservation Programme in collaboration with Japan’s Nagasaki Bio Park.
Im, a two-year-old male tapir and a three-year-old female named Bertam will be the first Malaysian wildlife to be sent for a period of ten years for conservation efforts, eco tourism, research and breeding purposes.
The agreement was signed between Peninsula Wildlife and National Parks Department director-general Datuk Abdul Rashid Samsudin and Nagasaki Bio Park director Satoshi Yamaguchi.
The signing was witnessed by Natural Resources and Environment minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Japan ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Malaysia Dr Makio Miyagawa, here, today.
The agreement marks Japan's commitment to protect and conserve the threatened animals.
Wan Junaidi acknowledged Nagasaki Bio Park for its continued support to wildlife conservation in Malaysia.
He added the park would bear the full cost of transportation, care of the animals and training of personnel involved in the effort.
Malayan Tapir is a protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 and is listed under Appendix I of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In the peninsula, the population of tapirs is only about 1,500 to 1,100.