JOHOR BAHRU: A runaway tapir, which had escaped from the Johor Zoo, was found wandering along Jalan Gertak Merah here on Saturday morning.
In the 3.15am incident, a team from the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (MCDF) were conducting an operation when they encountered the animal, which was headed towards the city centre.
A MCDF spokesman said the personnel then contacted the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to coordinate a joint rescue operation.
Seekor tapir terlepas dari Zoo Johor sebelum ditemui berkeliaran di Jalan Gertak Merah menuju pusat bandar raya ini, di Johor Bahru, awal pagi tadi.
Sumber: Video tular pic.twitter.com/fqmO04jub4— Buletin TV3 (@BuletinTV3) April 6, 2024
"The incident took place before 'sahur' as the MCDF personnel were conducting Ops Prihatin, an operation to locate the homeless population.
"They then spotted a tapir running in the direction of the city centre. The personnel then contacted Perhilitan personnel to coordinate a rescue operation and prevent any untoward incidences.
"Checks later showed that the tapir had escaped from the nearby Johor Zoo.
"MCDF and Perhilitan personnel finally managed to catch the animal and returned it to the zoo around 4am, some 40 minutes after it had escaped," said MCDF in a statement.
A video of the runaway tapir had made its rounds on social media on Saturday morning.
The 21-second video showed Perhilitan and MCDF personnel chasing after the animal to rescue it.
