DUNGUN: "I saw the tiger's genitals and I'm certain it was male," said Wook Mohd Noor.
The 63-year-old came face to face with one of the two tigers spotted wandering around Kampung Besul Lama, Bukit Besi, here, yesterday.
Recounting the incident, the senior citizen said it happened at 7.15am when she heard the animals she kept making noise behind her house.
The minute she opened the door, Wook said she was shocked to see a tiger looking straight at her.
"I was the first person to see the tiger and it was about five metres away from me.
"It looked fierce and I was scared because the tiger circled the house for more than an hour.
"This is the first time I came face to face with a tiger and until now, I am scared to leave the house," she said when met.
According to her, she had heard the roar of tigers at night previously because her house was next to a jungle.
"Usually I just hear their roars, I did not expect to see one in front of me yesterday," she said.
Meanwhile, another villager, Suzana Mustafa, 26, expressed hope the tigers would be caught soon.
She too encountered the tiger when it chased her while she was on her way to work yesterday.
"I was traumatised and last night I couldn't sleep well thinking about what happened. Luckily I managed to manouevre my motorcycle well when the tiger chased me for 300 metres.
"If I had fallen down, I don't know what would have happened to my child," Suzana, who is pregnant with her second child, said.
Suzana also expressed her gratitude to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) for being quick to act, and hoped the tigers would be captured soon.
"I am scared to take that route to go to work. But that is the only route available," she said.