‘Rarer than striking lottery’: Cyclist spots Malayan tapir in Lorong Halus
Ann Chen
The Straits Times
March 19, 2026
Mr Eric Teo was cycling in the Lorong Halus area in the dead of night on March 19 when he noticed an animal foraging at the edge of the forested area.
“It was my first time seeing a tapir in the wild,” said the 28-year-old freelance photographer, adding that he slowed down to observe the rare animal after realising what he had chanced upon.
The Malayan tapir is found mainly in the Malay peninsula, with numbers estimated to be under 3,000.
It is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which means it is at high risk of becoming extinct in the wild.
“It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I understand the animal’s rarity, and I joked with my friends that spotting a tapir in the wild is rarer than striking lottery,” said Mr Teo, adding that he spotted the tapir at around 2am.
The tapir was about half the length of a car, according to Mr Teo.
He declined to give the exact location of the sighting, as he does not wish to see people camp out to spot the tapir, which may disturb the animal.
Mr Teo shared a video on Facebook of the tapir on March 19, which has since garnered more than 23,000 views and over 700 reactions. In the video, the animal can be seen grazing on a grass patch along the road before trotting off into the forest.
“I was across the road from the tapir, and kept a distance of about 50m away,” Mr Teo said, adding that he did not wish to spook the animal.
The National Parks Board (NParks) previously said that tapir sightings here are rare, with one in February in the Defu industrial area near Paya Lebar.
There were also tapir sightings in Pulau Ubin in 2024 and late 2025, as well as in Lorong Halus in 2023.
NParks has previously said that members of the public should remain calm and quiet and avoid making any sudden movements if they encounter a tapir.
They should not try to approach or feed the animal, or provoke it such as by using flash photography, the board added.
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