Mark Rayan Darmaraj, the Malaysian country director of the Wildlife Conservation Society, said forest clearing at the hands of developers had made the country’s natural environment less resilient to shocks.

Speaking to FMT, he said: “Pristine wildlife habitats are not greatly impacted if these flooding events are not intense and frequent.

“However, if wildlife habitats have been impacted by logging and the ecosystem is disturbed, with intense rain these areas are prone to landslides and river overflow due to the absence of trees and vegetation that play a crucial role in holding the soil intact.”

He said flooding would exacerbate this and cause animals to drown or to be displaced if they escape the rising waters.

He called for better land use to prevent conflicts between humans and animals displaced by flooding events, saying development and land clearing near urban areas should incorporate drainage systems able to deal with flash floods and severe rainfall.

He also said all states needed to play a part in minimising forest loss for the benefit of both humans and wildlife.

“Politicians need to realise that forests provide humans with immeasurable benefits such as mitigating climate change and flood damage, providing fresh water and natural resources, acting as tourism sites and much more.”

Ahmad Ismail, president of the Malaysian Nature Society, said the authorities needed to take stock of reports from the public of animal encounters in urban areas and be mindful of events captured on social media.

“These must be analysed so they can take action to plan better habitat management,” he said.

“Improvements must come by way of, for example, creating buffer zones between humans and natural habitats or wildlife corridors to link fragmented habitats.“