Clouded Leopard Caught In Chicken Coop

SIK, Oct 19 (Bernama) --  It was a terrifying moment for a couple in Kampung Gulau near here upon seeing a clouded leopard in their backyard early this morning.

Malaysian Volunteer Department (RELA) member Habsah Paih, 54, said, it was about 5.50 am when she heard noises coming from her chicken coop, located about 70 meters from her house.

"What came to mind then, now that it is the rainy season,  a python could have entered the coop and attacked the chicken. I woke up my husband (Yahya Omar, 62) and using a torchlight, we went to check from afar, not daring to go near the coop.

 "At that time, I was thinking that it could also be a tiger in the coop because I had seen its footprints near the house...It startled us to see a clouded leopard and we immediately called 999," she said when contacted by Bernama today.

Habsah said while waiting for the Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM) to arrive, her husband went to close a hole in the chicken coop to prevent the animal from escaping.

"We had about 15 chickens in the coop, and now there are only a few left. We used to also rear ducks, about 20 of them, but they disappeared one by one. Once or twice we found the carcass but never thought of them being attacked by a clouded leopard.

“Seeing the tiger in the coop really scares us,” she said.

According to Habsah, a python entered her chicken coop on six occasions last year, and this was the first by a clouded leopard.

Meanwhile, an APM officer in Sik, Haisul Aishah Mohd Napiah said the Sik APM Operations Control Centre received a distress call at 6.55 am and a team was sent to the scene.

 The team took 15 minutes to trap the animal which was then taken to the APM office and then handed over to the Wildlife Department for further action.

-- BERNAMA