KUALA LUMPUR: Environmentalists hope the drop in wildlife crime can be sustained beyond the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.
Zoologist Dr Hafidzi Mohd Noor said there was a glimmer of hope in the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) figures, but warned it was too early to bank on a downward trend as the data remained inconclusive.
"During the MCO, there were naturally fewer encounters between men and wild animals, and this is in favour of the wildlife.
"But it's too early to draw on these numbers as Perhilitan has said their staff have not trekked into the jungles to collect data from camera traps."
He said while everyone was keen to paint a positive picture of what was happening, the figures represented a brief period and might not reflect the reality on the ground.
"The only way to tell if there is an improvement is to do a statistical analysis by comparing the number of wildlife crimes throughout the duration of
years, not just short periods of time."
He said while the data showed fewer wildlife-human conflicts, it did not necessarily translate into the animals being safe and well-sustained in the forests as there was no empirical data as to where they were.
"We cannot take the situation for granted and accept these numbers blindly just because one group of elephants stayed within the boundaries of the nature reserves in Johor and Pahang.
"Malaysia also shares an extensive land border with Thailand with numerous rat lanes that are frequented by poachers, who hunt with firearms."
Dr Hafidzi, however, urged the department to give updates on the number of tigers and their conditions as the species is marked on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature red list with fewer than 200 left in the wild.
"Tigers are the umbrella species. The survival of other animals within its ecological community directly hinges on theirs."
He said the decline of the apex predator was linked to the exponential increase in the population of herbivores, especially wild boars.
Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) president Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail said the fact that wildlife crime was still occurring during the MCO meant that Perhilitan had to be more proactive in adopting technology to nab criminals.
He said a breakdown in the number of cases involving trafficking and related cases was needed.
Ahmad said the increased wildlife sightings reported on social media showed that they were roaming outside their territories during the MCO due to the drop in noise and human activity. This, he said, was an opportunity for Perhilitan to gather data.
"We hope the department will get better data through radio-tracking and camera traps in the areas where the animals roam. The data can be used for better habitat management."
He lauded the department for continuing patrols during the MCO, and monitoring poaching and smuggling.
"MNS has been monitoring this through our community programmes. We have Sahabat Raja Rimba, Sahabat Enggang, Sahabat Beruang Madu, Sahabat Bakau and Sahabat Flyway to be our eyes and ears."
He urged the government to focus more on Malayan tapirs as there were critical issues related to the survival of the species.
There has been a rise in the number of hit-and-run cases involving tapirs, which are ensnared for their meat and body parts that are used as collector's items.
"We need to do urgent research on them and the corporate sector should come support this.
"We do not want a repeat of what happened to our Sumatran rhinoceros."
Malaysia's last Sumatran rhinoceros, Iman, died of cancer in Sabah in November.