Malayan Tiger(Panthera tigris malayensis)
The Malayan Tiger is smaller than the Indochinese tigers and has a similar appearance, its size is more akin to that of the Sumatran Tiger. Malayan tigers appear to be smaller than Bengal tigers. From measurements of 11 males and 8 females, the average length of a male is 8 ft 6 in, and of a female 7 ft 10 in. They can weigh between 100-140 kg.
Habitat
The Malayan Tiger lives in the Malay Peninsula around the central and Southern areas. They have been known to live in vegetative areas as well as forests. They are found around the river locations. They have also been found around regions of agricultural land that was abandoned. They don’t often live too close to humans or roads.
Diet
Malayan tigers prey on sambar deer, barking deer, wild boar, Bornean bearded pigs and serow. Whether their principal prey includes adult gaur and tapir is unknown.
Occasionally, livestock is also taken; however, tiger predation reduces the numbers of wild boar which can become a serious pest in plantations and other croplands. Studies indicate that in areas where large predators (tigers and leopards) are extinct, wild pigs are over 10 times more numerous than in areas where tigers and leopards are still present.
Breeding
Like other tigers, they can mate any time of the year. From November until March though seems to be the most common in their region. Females are ready to mate around 3 years of age and the males are ready about 5 years of age. The females will find a den for the young to be born in, which occurs approximately 100 days after mating. They are born blind and completely helpless, so they consume milk from the mother. There can be up to 7 young at once, but usually just 2 or 4 cubs. There is a high mortality rate with less than half of them living for the first 2 years.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Critically Endangered(CR). The estimated nationwide population continues to decline from roughly 3,000 in the 1950s to 500 between 1990 and 2003 to an estimate of 250-340 in 2013. This indicates a greater than 25% decline in approximately the last generation. Small sample sizes are a challenge to reliably estimate the population size of rare species. Although these estimates are only approximations and not based on a nationwide Tiger survey, compared to the largely guesswork of the earlier figures based on expert knowledge and limited information, the current estimate is inferred from a range of mean density estimates from seven population studies conducted across all three Tiger landscapes identified in the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan between 2004 and 2013 and the estimated areas occupied by Tigers based on the year 2000 figure and the annual rate of loss since 1980. Differences in methodologies and accuracy make the direct comparison difficult, but the best available evidence suggests population decline. The estimated 250-340 adult Tigers translate to the effective population size of 80-120 breeding adults. Repeated studies of Tiger populations over one generation exist only in the two areas: Gunung Basor Forest Reserve in 2004-05 and 2012; and Taman Negara Pahang in 1999 and 2011. In these areas, the density estimates declined by at least 50 and 90%, respectively.
Threats
Illegal trade in high-value Tiger products including skins, bones, meat and tonics is a primary threat to Tigers, which has led to their recent disappearance from broad areas of otherwise suitable habitat, and continues at unsustainable rates. Asia is a densely populated and rapidly developing region, bringing huge pressures to bear on the large wild areas required for viable Tiger populations. Conversion of forest land to agriculture and silviculture, commercial logging, and human settlement are the main drivers of Tiger habitat loss. With their substantial dietary requirements, Tigers require a healthy large ungulate prey base, but these species are also under heavy human subsistence hunting pressure and competition from domestic livestock. Tiger attacks on livestock and people can lead to intolerance of Tigers by neighbouring communities and presents an ongoing challenge to managers to build local support for Tiger conservation.
Conservation
In 2010, the Year of the Tiger on the Asian lunar calendar, tigers were the focus of substantial conservation effort and investment. At a Tiger Summit held in St Petersburg, Russia in November 2010, the 13 Tiger Range Countries adopted a Global Tiger Recovery Program. The goal is to effectively double the number of wild tigers by 2022 through actions to: i) effectively preserve, manage, enhance and protect tiger habitats; ii) eradicate poaching, smuggling and illegal trade of tigers, their parts and derivatives; iii) cooperate in transboundary landscape management and in combating illegal trade; iv) engage with indigenous and local communities; v) increase the effectiveness of Tiger and habitat management; and vi) restore Tigers to their former range. The Tiger Summit was attended by Heads of State including Russia, China, Lao PDR, Nepal and Bangladesh, and represents a policy commitment to tiger conservation of unprecedented significance. Malaysia was ahead of the game. In 2009 Malaysia's National Biodiversity and Biotechnology Council, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, adopted the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan (NTCAP). With the goal of doubling the country’s Tiger population from then 500 to 1,000 by the year 2020, NTCAP lays out 80 detailed actions to be implemented by over 40 stakeholders, from the bottom up, on the ground researcher right up to the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department. Strong leadership, coordination, communication and monitoring are keys to the success of the plan.
These 1,000 Tigers were to be conserved in what’s called the Central Forest Spine, a network of forest complexes connected by green linkages. Together, they form 51,000 km2 of contiguous forest along the length of Peninsular Malaysia, much like a long green spine. In the Central Forest Spine, NTCAP identifies three priority areas and four priority corridors. The priority areas are Belum-Temengor Complex in the north, Taman Negara National Park in the interior, and Endau-Rompin Complex in the south. The priority corridors enable tigers from the priority areas to disperse to nearby forests. While the northern-most corridor, along the East-West highway, is meant to ensure the contiguity of Belum-Temengor, the southern-most corridor does the same for Endau-Rompin. Two corridors connect Taman Negara to its adjacent forests along Sungai Yu (Yu River) to the west of the park and along Sungai Deka to the north of the park. The progress of the NTCAP implementation has been annually monitored by the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) Secretariats' Office and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Although gradual improvements have been made in the number of actions completed every year, the overall level of implementation has been unsatisfactory. This has culminated in the continued loss of Malaysia’s remaining tigers and natural forests. The main reasons for this are insufficient levels of resources, government committeemen, and public interest.
With the new population estimate of 250-340 adult Tigers and diminishing prey base and natural forests, it is biologically impossible to reach the NTCAP target by 2020. As the game changer, the conservation community has called to the highest level of the government to set up a dedicated National Tiger Conservation Authority or "Tiger Task Force" to effectively coordinate and monitor the NTCAP implementation with adequate representation from state and federal government agencies and professional Tiger conservationists. This body would also be able to make executive decisions on policy, allocation of resources, enforcement and land management favourable for Tiger conservation. For the time being, anti-poaching effort at the priority areas is strengthened by multi-agency enforcement teams, including military personnel. The Tiger conservation community will convene in 2015 to re-strategize NTCAP.