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Good Samaritan rescues anteaters
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Monday, 08 March 2010 00:00
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SIBU – A mother anteater and its baby were saved by a Good Samaritan who talked a poacher out of killing it by buying the mammals from him recently.
The good Samaritan, who wants to be known only as Jen, said she was visiting a friend when she saw a crowd gathering outside a house to watch two anteaters being caught.
Lai and Jen nudging the anteaters into the jungle.
The poacher said he was with friends drinking in his garden when he saw the two anteaters crawling across the road.
Out to make a quick buck
Although he was told anteaters were a protected species, the poacher refused to part with the animals unless he was paid. He said he could fetch a tidy sum by selling them to people who enjoyed exotic food.
After haggling over the price, Jen bought the mammals for RM100 and took them to a famed snake catcher, Lai Lee Siew.
Lai, well known for catching snakes here, would release them in the jungles near his house in Jalan Oya.
Not only does he release snakes, the eccentric man would also collect other animals from people and set them free as he believes they all have a right to live.
Freed into jungles
The next day, accompanied by Jen, Lai bundled a brood of reptiles that included snakes, monitor lizards and anteaters into his van for a trip to nearby jungles.
 Lai then set all the animals free. While the snakes and monitor lizards could get away from humans fast enough, Jen said the two anteaters looked so lost and clung onto each other in the cage, refusing to budge until Lai forced them out.
She said it was worth the money to watch them crawl back safely into the jungles.
Popular belief
A spokesman from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation said the anteater is a protected species and those found in possession of it would be charged.
He said the mammal is becoming extinct as it is hunted for its scaly skin, which purportedly have cancer-curing properties once they are grounded into powder.
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