Duo fishing in Johor recall close encounter with tiger
A peaceful fishing trip in Johor turned into an adrenaline-filled one for two Malaysian men when a tiger appeared near them.
The encounter was captured on video by 31-year-old Nazrie Iskandar, who posted the footage on his TikTok account on Sept 13. The clip has been viewed over 2.9 million times as at Sept 16.
In the clip, Mr Nazrie, who is wearing an action camera, is seen fishing at a river before he is startled by his companion, 35-year-old Azmir Mokeri.
Mr Nazrie turns to see Mr Azmir stumbling and scrambling, and tells him to calm down, before he notices the tiger skulking towards his friend.
Mr Nazrie grabs his tackle box and proceeds to recite prayers from the Quran, and also offers a supplication for the tiger to leave them unharmed.
The duo, frozen in fear, watch as the tiger switches its focus to a bag on the forest floor. It picks up the item using its mouth and backs away from the camera’s view.
“If you retreat (from it), will it follow?” asks Mr Nazrie, as Mr Azmir slowly backs away from the tiger’s location.
The video then cuts off and shows the two men up in the trees, and sitting on branches.
“Take it easy, friend! (We are) waiting for help,” says Mr Azmir while laughing.
Speaking to the camera, Mr Nazrie says that after the tiger took the bag, it went a little further away from them before it lay on the ground with the bag.
“Our friend will come by soon. In the meantime, we’ll relax (up here),” he adds.
He warns that others should be careful to check their surroundings while fishing. “It’s definitely dangerous.”
According to state news agency Bernama, the encounter happened near the Felda Nitar 2 palm oil plantation in Johor’s Mersing district.
Mr Nazrie reportedly often records himself while fishing, and that was his first time encountering a tiger in the wild.
“I was shaking in fear when reciting (a prayer) but gradually calmed down,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
“We were only two steps away from the tiger... I hope this is the first and last time I come across (a tiger).”
Netizens praised the two men for staying calm in the face of danger while others commended Mr Nazrie for staying to help Mr Azmir.
“I respect you for not leaving your friend behind... Other people would have run away,” read one comment.
Authorities from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan) have gone down to the scene to investigate and monitor the area.
Perhilitan Johor director Aminuddin Jamin was quoted by Bernama as saying: “We would like to remind the public not to do any acts of provocation if they encounter wild animals, including tigers and elephants which tend to attack victims if they feel threatened or if they want food”.
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