Even as we get ready to celebrate the 51st Malaysia Day, the country’s national animal, the Malayan tiger, is at risk of becoming extinct.
A joint statement by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) and the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (Mycat) estimates the total number of Malaysia’s Malayan tiger population at a miniscule 250 to 350, down dramatically from the previous estimate of 500.
“Despite all efforts, including the strengthening of legislation and increased patrolling, tiger conservation across the vast tropical forest landscape continue to face challenges.
“Poaching for illegal commercial trade is the greatest and most urgent threat to tigers in Malaysia, followed by loss and fragmentation of forests,” the joint statement said, as reported by The Star Online.
The latest estimate was reached from studies carried out from 2010 to 2013, using camera traps placed at seven sites across three major tiger habitats in Peninsular Malaysia.
Though the joint statement said more sites would need to be surveyed to get a clearer picture of the Malayan tiger population, as it stands the low number of Malayan tigers left would qualify the species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of “critically endangered” animals.
In 2008, the Malayan tiger was classified as “endangered” under the same metric.
The National Tiger Conservation Action Plan, which aimed to increase the Malayan tiger to population to 1,000 by 2020, is now considered “unachievable”.
