This is a Malayan tapir, not a panda
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on August 2, 2019 at 10:30
- 2 min read
- By AFP Malaysia
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The Facebook posts, for example this July 24, 2019 one which has been shared more than 2,500 times, contain a photo of a black and white animal that they claim is a panda.
The Malaysian-language caption translates as: “How badly our forests have been flattened, after a tiger and a bear, this time it’s a panda found wandering among the residential area.”
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The photo was posted here, here and here, with a similar claim.
The animal in all of the pictures is actually a Malayan tapir -- a four-legged mammal with a trunk-like nose and distinctive white and black colouring.
Shown below is a comparison of the animal from the misleading Facebook post (L) and the Malayan tapir shown on the website of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List (R).
According to the IUCN, the Malayan tapir is an endangered species native to Indonesia (Sumatera), Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.
Local media Utusan Online reported on the incident here on July 23, 2019, using the same photo as seen in the Facebook post.
The title of the article, in Malaysian language, reads: “Tapir lost in residential area.”
The first paragraph, translated to English, reads:
“Residents in the residential area of Lavender Heights in Senawang, near here (Seremban) today was shocked by the presence of a tapir that is believed to have got lost from the nearby forest area.
“An officer of the Regional Civil Defence (PPAD), Captain Md. Fadir Md. Nor said the incident happened at about 12.30, when the animal went into the residents’ yard.”
Below is a screenshot of the Utusan Online report:
Pandas are native to China and are not found in the wild in Malaysia.
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