Latest news with #leopard
Free Malaysia Today
11-07-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Vietnamese man's 4-year jail term for keeping leopard parts reinstated
Nguyen Van Tien claimed he was given 54 portions of leopard to take home when he met several other Vietnamese nationals here in Malaysia. (Wikipedia pic) PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal has reinstated a Vietnamese man's four-year jail term for illegal possession of 54 leopard parts, after allowing the prosecution's appeal on the inadequacy of his sentence. A three-member bench chaired by Justice Hashim Hamzah said they were restoring the jail term imposed by the sessions court on Nguyen Van Tien as the offence relating to wildlife is serious. 'We set aside the High Court ruling which had imposed a two-year jail term. The penalty of a RM300,000 fine, or 12 months' imprisonment, however, remains,' he said. Justices Zaini Mazlan and Noorin Badaruddin were also on the bench. Nguyen was caught by wildlife rangers on Dec 12, 2023 at Taman Negara in Pahang with the leopard parts, weapons and tools. He was charged under Section 68(1)(b) of the Wildlife Conservation Act with keeping any part or derivative of a totally protected wildlife without a special permit. Those found guilty may be jailed for up to 15 years and fined a minimum of RM150,000. The leopard is a protected species in Malaysia. It is on a special list in the Act which carries some of the most severe penalties in the law. On April 24, 2024, the Raub sessions court sentenced Ngyuen to four years' jail and a fine of RM300,000 after he pleaded guilty at the second mention of the case. In September, the High Court reduced his jail term by two years but maintained the fine. Nguyen had also faced three charges under the Taman Negara (Pahang) (Amendment) Enactment 2018 for trespassing and illegal possession of weapons and tools, for which the court sentenced him to 24 months' jail on each charge. The court ordered the jail terms to be served concurrently, and Nguyen did not appeal against the sentences. Today, Nguyen, who came to seek employment in Malaysia, claimed that he met several other Vietnamese nationals who gave him the leopard meat in 54 portions to take home. 'I'm sorry for being ignorant of Malaysian laws regarding the protection of wildlife,' he said through a Vietnamese interpreter as he was not represented by a lawyer. He pleaded to the court to maintain the two-year jail term so that he could return home to care for his aged parents, his four children and his wife. Deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad said the court should be at the forefront of creating awareness on wildlife protection by imposing a deterrent sentence. She said protected wildlife was a national heritage. 'The offender was bold enough to commit the offence at our national park,' she said, adding that a clear message must be sent to all that Malaysia was committed to conserving its wildlife. Aznee said the Court of Appeal should interfere and correct the sentence imposed by the High Court, which she described as manifestly inadequate. Representatives of Traffic South East Asia, a wildlife trade monitoring network, and Justice for Wildlife Malaysia were present to observe the proceedings.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Leopard attack clip shot in India, not Bangladesh
"Human fight with leopard at Lakshmipur brick kiln," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post from June 28, 2025, referring to a coastal district in Bangladesh's Chittagong division (archived link). The accompanying clip shows a man arm-wrestling a big cat while a crowd hurls stones and bricks from a distance. The video circulated with similar claims elsewhere on Facebook after a leopard was spotted in Chittagong Hill Tracts, raising hopes among conservationists (archived link). Leopards are listed as vulnerable as a species globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but critically endangered in the South Asian country of more than 170 million people, warning its population may no longer be viable. Previous reports of the elusive cats had been based on paw prints and fleeting sightings in the forest, according to a zoologist Monirul Khan from Jahangirnagar University. A reverse search of keyframes on Google found the video in a report from Indian news outlet NDTV on June 25, 2025 (archived link). "Man fights leopard bare-handed in Lakhimpur Kheri," the clip's text overlay says, referring to district in India's Uttar Pradesh megastate that has a similar-sounding name to Lakshmipur in Bangladesh. People in the video are heard shouting in Hindi. Several Indian media organisations reported the incident and featured similar visuals (archived here and here). An officer at Uttar Pradesh's forest department confirmed the incident occurred in Lakhimpur Kheri, in a brick kiln in Baburi village. "Villagers alerted the forest department, leading to the leopard's swift tranquilisation and transfer to forest department's treatment centre," forest ranger Rajesh Dixit told AFP on July 8. "Some forest officials also sustained injuries during this operation."
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Yahoo
Leopard attack clip shot in India, not Bangladesh
"Human fight with leopard at Lakshmipur brick kiln," reads a Bengali-language Facebook post from June 28, 2025, referring to a coastal district in Bangladesh's Chittagong division (archived link). The accompanying clip shows a man arm-wrestling a big cat while a crowd hurls stones and bricks from a distance. The video circulated with similar claims elsewhere on Facebook after a leopard was spotted in Chittagong Hill Tracts, raising hopes among conservationists (archived link). Leopards are listed as vulnerable as a species globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but critically endangered in the South Asian country of more than 170 million people, warning its population may no longer be viable. Previous reports of the elusive cats had been based on paw prints and fleeting sightings in the forest, according to a zoologist Monirul Khan from Jahangirnagar University. A reverse search of keyframes on Google found the video in a report from Indian news outlet NDTV on June 25, 2025 (archived link). "Man fights leopard bare-handed in Lakhimpur Kheri," the clip's text overlay says, referring to district in India's Uttar Pradesh megastate that has a similar-sounding name to Lakshmipur in Bangladesh. People in the video are heard shouting in Hindi. Several Indian media organisations reported the incident and featured similar visuals (archived here and here). An officer at Uttar Pradesh's forest department confirmed the incident occurred in Lakhimpur Kheri, in a brick kiln in Baburi village. "Villagers alerted the forest department, leading to the leopard's swift tranquilisation and transfer to forest department's treatment centre," forest ranger Rajesh Dixit told AFP on July 8. "Some forest officials also sustained injuries during this operation."
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment young man survives brutal leopard attack after wrestling beast BARE-HANDED as locals hurl bricks to fend it off
This is the shocking moment a brave young man was captured grappling with a leopard and holding it off - after the beast unexpectedly lunged at his village in northern India 's Uttar Pradesh. Click above to watch the video in full.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Researchers stunned after trail cameras capture elusive big cats in rare habitat: 'This is an incredibly hopeful moment'
An elusive South African plains dweller made two cameos on a clever camera trap placed by nature watchers to spy on the region's iconic creatures, according to a Miami Herald story. The cameras were placed as part of the Landmark Foundation's Leopard Conservation Project in De Hoop Nature Reserve with support from the Morukuru Goodwill Foundation. The 30 "traps" took 4,223 photographs during 50 days. Two photos of African leopards were among the most exciting images captured, per the Herald's reporting. "This is an incredibly hopeful moment," Morukuru Family co-founder Ed Zeeman said in a May news release from the family. "To confirm the presence of not one, but two leopards, is a testament to the power of patient, long-term conservation work." Other images include baboons, Cape grysboks, and honey badgers. The leopards are considered to be one of "nature's best-kept secrets," according to the experts. "This is exactly the kind of data we hoped to uncover," the Foundation's general manager, Bool Smuts, said in the release. Leopards are considered "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. The species is listed as extinct in a long list of countries, including Cambodia and Israel. Trail cameras are great tools for capturing hard-to-spot creatures to confirm their existence and health. Sometimes, though, a hard-to-classify animal is photographed, puzzling experts. Alaskan outdoors officials have used cameras to monitor wolf health. Documenting their numbers and activities as they feast on carcasses can provide valuable insight, according to the state's Fish and Game Department. And the University of Minnesota said that predators are crucial parts of the environment, keeping certain prey species from becoming overpopulated, creating an unbalance. "For example, wolves can prevent beavers from damming streams and creating ponds that turn forests into wetlands," according to the university report. It's part of the specific role each critter plays, impacting our food system. Bees and other insects pollinate three-quarters of crops that fill our tables, Our World in Data noted. Fruits, cocoa, and coffee beans are among foods that rely on pollinators to some degree. Certain butterfly and bumblebee counts in 17 countries dropped by 25% since 1991, partly due to deforestation, pesticide use, and other human actions. Other populations remain stable, but the impact is troubling, the report continued. Do you think people should be allowed to keep exotic animals as pets? Yes No It depends on the animal It depends on the person Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. You can help to keep tabs on the creatures in your environment, too. Trail cameras cost less than $40. You might be surprised by what is passing through your backyard at night. The National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count is a great way to help track population health, simply by documenting what you see at feeders from your kitchen window. Taking a walk to observe birds has other benefits, as well. "It heightens the senses up again. It kind of refreshes your instincts," veterinarian Scott Bastian, a bird expert from Southwestern Pennsylvania, said in a story by the Daily American about a count from 2019. You could even incorporate birdwatching into a routine daily trip. By walking and watching, instead of driving, you will prevent heat-trapping tailpipe exhaust that harms humans and animals alike. A gas car spews thousands of pounds of planet-warming fumes each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It will be interesting to see what creatures are captured next by the growing number of forest-watching cameras being deployed. "Camera traps offer a non-intrusive way to monitor rare and wide ranging species like leopards," Smuts said in the Herald's report. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
