State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said while it is suspected that the picture of the tiger is a fake, the wildlife authorities are checking if it could be true.

The picture shows a tiger perched on the trail, with an accompanying message claiming it was taken at Taman Rimba Cherok Tokun.

“What is being spread online is causing fear among the people there. I am appealing to the photographer who had taken this picture to come forward and tell us where it was shot.

“We would like to advise all to be extra careful and to not go far into the jungle,” he said in a statement.

Phee said that according to the Forestry Department and the Wildlife and Natural Parks Department (Perhilitan), the only tiger sighting in Penang had been in the forests of Bukit Panchor, near Nibong Tebal.

“There has been no sighting at Taman Rimba Cherok Tokun before,” he said.