Malaysian authorities shot dead an adult tiger believed to have killed a female rubber tapper early this month, a report said Saturday.

The New Straits Times said the tiger died on the spot after being shot several times by a team of forest rangers and policemen but its two cubs escaped into the forest in Jeli district, in the north-eastern Kelantan state.

Ilyah Sulaiman, district wildlife and national parks department said local villagers alerted the authorities after sighting the tigers, which are a protected species in Malaysia.

"A team of two rangers and six policemen were dispatched to the village and they spotted a tiger and two cubs," he said. Ilyah said six traps had been placed to capture the cubs believed to be roaming in the area.

On July 9, the body of rubber tapper Siti Esah Mamat, 48, was found near her rubber smallholding with injuries consistent with those inflicted by a tiger. — AFP