Tigers on the brink

Malayan tiger

(Panthera tigris ssp. jacksoni)

IUCN 级别

LC 无危

CR 极危

EX 灭绝

The challenge

A tiger in peril

Can hunters be hunted? Perplexing as the question may sound, it reflects the plight of the Malayan tiger, which is threatened with extinction.

Roaming the forests of Peninsular Malaysia, the Malayan tiger once played a vital role in maintaining the balance of its ecosystem as the top predator of its food chain. But increasingly, over the last 60 years, this delicate balance has been disrupted as poachers relentlessly track down and kill tigers. Their parts are sold and used in traditional Chinese medicine, fuelling the illegal wildlife trade.

To compound the problem, adverse effects of habitat loss and fragmentation as well as fatal conflict with humans, have led to the near demise of these mighty cats. There used to be a thriving population of 3,000 Malayan tigers back in the 1950s. Today, only 250 of them remain.

The goal

A fighting chance for the cats

Without any form of intervention, it's likely that the Malayan tiger will continue to fall victim to a poacher’s snare. The Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) has stepped in to ensure the survival of this species.

Within the forests of Peninsula Malaysia lies an important conduit between Taman Negara National Park and the Main Range – home to two of the largest tiger landscapes in Malaysia. Known as the Sungai Yu River Wildlife Corridor, it's here that the organisation conducts ongoing Citizen Action for Tigers (CAT) walks to closely monitor the activity of poachers and remove traps that they set in the area.

Our role

Walking the talk

Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) believes that with continued education and protection, the Malayan tiger can again flourish in the wild.

Over the past few years, WRS has partnered with MYCAT and engaged the help of community conservationists to take part in regular CAT walks. More than 1,000 volunteers from 33 countries have come through the door, collectively covering 2,200 kilometres of habitat to date.

On these anti-poaching walks, volunteers are trained to spot poachers’ snares and remove them for safe movement in the forest, as well as track and manage human-wildlife encounters. Last year, a quarter of their trek participants were from Singapore alone. Unquestionably, these efforts have greatly helped the work of full-time forest rangers.

The outcome

Dismantling snares, disseminating information

Through the presence of these volunteers, illegal tiger poaching activity has been curbed with minimal disturbance to wildlife. Also, more than a hundred snares have been destroyed to date, along with reduced signs of encroachments.

The work of MYCAT has paid off in other ways too. Thanks to actionable information gathered and passed on to authorities through these walks, there have been successful raids and arrests of tiger poachers and middlemen.

With new CAT Walkers being groomed to take the mantle of conservation to the community at large, the important work of saving the Malayan tiger continues.