Boy climbs trees to escape tiger

Boy climbs trees to escape tiger

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): A boy sought refuge up a rubber tree after spotting a tiger lurking in bushes on a plantation that has been plagued by several recent tiger attacks on livestock.

Mohamad Sakril Hafiz Said, 15, was helping his father at the plantation near Grik, 360 kilometers (220 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, when he heard a strange noise and saw the tiger, the New Straits Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

"I shouted to my father and ran quickly to the nearest tree and climbed it," Mohamad was quoted as saying.

He was trapped for an hour on Monday while the beast waited for him to come down. His father, Said Saat, 41, brought back armed villagers. One fired a shot in the air and frightened the animal away.

The spread of oil palm and rubber plantations encroaching Malaysia's forest jungles have depleted prey and pushed tigers to forest fringes, increasing contacts and conflicts with man in recent years.

About 500 tigers remain in Malaysian jungles, about 10 percent of the rapidly decreasing world population. Hunting tigers is legally prohibited, but wildlife officials shoot down animals that attack humans.

At least one man was killed by a tiger in northern Malaysia last year.