Endangered Malayan Tiger

Malayan Tiger Conservational organization The Malayan tiger is a tiger subspecies that is smaller in size and is found in Malaysia as well as some areas in Thailand. It is one of the many tiger species but it is endangered. It can be found in central and southern areas of the Malaysia peninsula as well as to the south of Thailand. Its habitat is the forests that are less dense which have higher food supply.

Because of the loss of habitat occasioned by deforestation, the existence of Malayan tiger is endangered. Recent estimates place their population at between 600-800 individuals, thereby making it one of the tiger species that have a large population (Malayan Tiger n.p). Wild tigers in all their species are facing extinction threats. For hundreds of years they have been important in Asia's nature and culture (Global recovery program p.10). They are at the top of the food chain in the forest lands of Asia.

Availability of considerable populations of wild tigers is testament to an ecosystem's integrity and sustainability. Wild tigers are almost facing extinction. The surviving population is between 3200 and 3500. This population is scattered among thirteen Asian tiger nations (TRCs): Bhutan, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Lao PDR, Russian Federation, Nepal, and Vietnam (Global recovery program p. 10). Wild tigers can be found in three main Peninsular Malaysia landscapes Belum- Temenggor, Endau -Rompin and Tamara Negara.

However, because of the several challenges the Malayan tigers are facing, the landscapes are not filled to capacity. Less than five hundred Malayan tigers are imagined to inhabit the wild (Harris et al. p.1) Problems Facing Tigers Poaching and Illegal Trade Since the beginning of man's discovery of tigers, they have continually hunted them to get their bones and pelts and also to secure them as trophies. This kind of hunting is currently outlawed and would be considered as poaching activities.

Local governments as well as anti-poaching crusaders are working hard to secure tigers in their habitats but poachers are still causing a lot of trouble. Certain cultures are making use of bones of tigers to produce medicine, while others consider their skins as status symbols. People are willing to pay a lot of money for tigers that are hunted illegally (Harris et al. p.1). Sport hunting probably contributed to the biggest drop in tiger numbers before the 1930s.

Also, they were considered as pests in some places whose elimination was necessary. The early 1990s saw people realize that trade in the bones of tigers threatened their existence (Species Fact Sheet p.2). Because of increased investments in their conservation, promotion of tiger bone substitutes, and trade control, tiger bone medicine activities have been greatly curtailed. The tigers are now better protected and trading body parts of tigers is illegal.

The major market -- China -- also banned the trade, a ban that saw tiger bone eliminated from pharmacopoeia in China in the year 1993. There is still demand, though. The demand is being fed by poaching. Poaching is a big threat to various animal species in the world. A report released by TRAFFIC, a network monitoring trade in wildlife, reveals that people continue to trade in parts of tigers in China and other parts of Asia.

A different report by the same organization discovered body parts being sold openly in 28 towns and cities across the Asian continent. Habitat and Prey Loss Less than a century ago, tigers could be found prowling forests in Malaysia, the Eastern parts of Turkey, Caspian region, China, Indochina and Eastern Russia. An expanding population of humans since the 1940s have contracted and fragmented the previous habitat for tigers.

It should be noted that tigers require expansive territories for their survival and so reducing their habitat threatens their existence and exposes them to poachers. Besides the loss of habitat, tigers are also suffering from loss of natural populations of prey like goats, pigs, sheep and deer. Destruction of habitats in large scale continues to threaten their existence (Species fact sheet p.2). Human -- Wildlife Conflict Animals are increasingly competing with people for food and space as humans encroach on the last pieces of the Earth's wild.

As earlier mentioned, tigers are facing a problem in the reduction of their prey. Because of this, a number of them have to look for food among the domestic animals that help various communities meet their livelihoods. Predation on livestock leads to the tigers being killed by humans. Sometimes humans bait the tigers using poisoned carcasses. The human-wildlife conflict threatens coexistence between animals and humans. Organizations concerned with conservation have established projects to help contain such conflicts in Asian countries (securing a future for tigers in the world p.18).

Conservational Organizations A number of organizations have been set up to help contain human-wildlife conflict. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) In the last four years, WCA-Malaysia and the Malayan government have been closely working to start a recovery for tigers and other wild animals in Malaysia.

To mitigate the threats facing the tigers, the two are putting forth various interventions: land use that is tiger friendly in the major areas; anti-poaching activities across the board; reaching out to the communities to create awareness for the protection of tigers and their prey; regularly monitoring populations of tigers and their prey so as to evaluate conservation efforts success. The efforts are still on and will need funding to make sure that the populations of the tigers are maintained (Tiger conservation in the Endau-rompin landscape of Peninsular Malaysia p.1).

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) The efforts of the WWF towards tiger conservation have been ongoing for at least four decades now. Tigers represent the biodiversity of the ecosystems they inhabit. Since they require wide spaces for their survival, the conservation of tigers will help conserve vast habitats and ensure the survival of other species as well, humans included (Species fact sheet p.3). Tiger habitats that are healthy are sources of food and water and promote Ecotourism which in turn creates jobs for people to earn their livelihoods.

Efforts are being made by WWF through its various networks to save tigers. The actions being taken range from on-the-ground tiger protection that is supported regionally to curtail illegal.