Less than 150 Malayan Tigers left in Malaysia's forests

SHAH ALAM - The population of the Malayan Tigers in the country is reported to have declined.

The statistical report issued by the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), last year showed that the number of Malayan Tigers or its scientific name panthera tigris jacksoni was less than 200.

It was reported that the amount continued to decline as the latest data by the department showed that the number of the wildlife species was now less than 150.

Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said tigers were expected to extinct in the country in five to 10 years if no drastic measures were taken to ensure stability of the wildlife’s ecosystem.

He said, if Malayan Tigers were not protected, they will face extinction.

“The total of the Malayan tigers population in the country was estimated to be less than 150.

“What was even more surprising was that based on the investigation carried out, this animal is expected to become extinct within five to 10 years if no action is taken immediately," he told Sinar Harian in an exclusive interview, recently.

Abdul Kadir said there were several factors that caused the declination of tigers in the country and among them were illegal hunting, smuggling, setting snares to trap the tigers for their exotic meat for consumption and belief towards its benefits in traditional medicine, besides being used for personal status and symbol of luxury.

He said, another factor causing the population to decline was the disease that threatened them as well as lack of food resources.

"Besides illegal hunting and illegal trading, the latest threat to the Malayan Tiger is the canine distemper disease caused by a type of virus called paramyxovirus. This disease can also infect pets like cats and dogs.

“Other than that, another factor was the lack of food sources in the forest which has affected the nutritional trend and loss of habitat causing the tigers to leave the forest to find food,” he said.

Enforcement

Abdul Kadir said there were various enforcement programmes and initiatives that were carried out by the department in collaboration with various enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in an effort to curb wildlife hunting.

He said he hoped that a clear message would be sent to all parties that the government was very strict in protecting the treasures of the country.

He said what was clear was that the extinction situation of the species was very worrying because each species plays its own role in the ecosystem.

"The government takes the issue of extinction of wildlife seriously. The Cabinet on June 16, 2021 agreed on strategic actions for the conservation of Malayan Tigers in particular including other wildlife that will be implemented for 10 years starting 2021 until 2030.

“One of the actions agreed upon was to improve good governance and effectiveness in implementing the conservation of the country's iconic species through the establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Task Force (MyTTF) chaired by the Prime Minister.

"We believe that the population of these wild animals will increase again based on observations from implementations that were made in other countries," he said.

Meanwhile, Abdul Kader said the World Tiger Day celebration was to foster awareness of the importance of conserving the iconic species.

"The celebration of World Tiger Day is an annual event which started since 2010.

"World Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29 to foster and increase the awareness of the importance of caring for and conserving the tiger species," he said.

The theme of this year's World Tiger Day is 'Strengthening Cooperation for the Future of Malayan Tigers'.