Fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remain in the wild

Conservation isn’t a wildlife problem. It’s a human problem, that only we have the power to change.

Why conservation of the Malayan Tiger is important

Worldwide, tigers are in peril.

There are only about 3,500 tigers left roaming in the wild, a drastic decline from 100,000 just a century ago. Out of a total of nine sub-species of the tiger (Panthera tigris), four sub-species have gone extinct in the last 70 years and the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) could be next.

With a population decrease from an estimated 3,000 in the 1950’s to fewer than 150 at present, the critically endangered Malayan tiger – Malaysia’s national icon of strength, grace and courage – is on the brink of extinction.

Threats to the survival of wild tigers are mounting but conservation of the Malayan tiger is more than just improving its numbers. As a keystone species, the tiger’s survival is inextricably linked to the health of the rainforest and everything that lives under its lush canopy. This includes prey species, plant life and local communities who rely on the forest for their livelihood.

Our Conservation Efforts

MYCAT’s purpose is to bring people together for tiger conservation.

Our conservation efforts are based on the wildlife needs identified in our research (2009-2011) at the Sungai Yu Ecological Corridor, the most important forest linkage and tiger corridor identified in the Central Forest Spine Master plan and National Tiger Conservation Action Plan.

Protection

Through Citizen Action For Tigers (CAT), the local community and members of the public are directly involved in the protection of tigers, their prey and habitat to prevent poaching, deforestation and encroachment.

Reforestation

Important yet severely damaged tiger habitats are restored by planting non-commercial trees and promoting natural regeneration to promote the connectivity of key tiger habitat.

Community Engagement

The public plays a vital role in creating long-term solutions for a better future. Our core initiatives empower and engage members of the public and local communities to become dedicated stewards of tigers and their forests.

Advocacy

Working closely with the federal and state governments to improve policies and practice to better protection of tigers, their prey and habitats.

Citizen Action For Tigers (CAT)

Saving tigers begins with reconnecting people with nature.

A lasting solution to conservation challenges is not possible as long as people remain detached from nature. It is the action by a critical mass of people that will have the broadest impact on the conservation of wild nature.

For that reason, MYCAT believes that the broader public must be part of the long-term solution for conservation to be successful. Increasing conservation stewardship improves the public’s connection to and concern for nature.

MYCAT’s conservation efforts are based on 3 pillars:

Protection

Restoration

Engagement for conservation stewardship

Community Engagement

CAT Walk and reforestation efforts have helped to improve the livelihood of local indigenous communities, enhanced the local economy, and reduced threats to the ecosystem in which they live.

Local indigenous communities guide CAT Walks, conduct surveillance patrols and restore degraded lands by nurturing and planting non-commercial seedlings collected from nearby forests.

MYCAT engages up to 10 indigenous men and 5 indigenous women for our habitat restoration effort. Female members of the local indigenous community are employed at the tree nursery; while their male counterparts have joined the reforestation or CR teams. We also recruit locals from a nearby village and are actively recruiting additional workers from other villages in Pahang state, in consultation with the village elders.

More than half of 50 CRs trained by MYCAT have gone on to find employment with the government doing similar work of patrolling the forest. MYCAT is appointed by the government to manage these rangers at the project site.

Over a decade spent in the field has also helped MYCAT establish a good rapport with the wider local communities, who come forward with wildlife-related information such as poaching, livestock depredation and tiger signs.

Reforestation

While Malaysia is one of many developing countries that continue to lose natural forests, over 90% of the country’s remaining tiger habitats are legally protected either as forest reserves or national/state parks. However, none is large enough to support a viable population of tigers. For that reason, linking these protected areas is vital. The challenge is that such lands to link the fragmented forests have been severely degraded by road construction and illegal felling.

As part of MYCAT’s habitat restoration efforts, in 2016 we drafted restoration plans for different locations within the Sungai Yu Ecological Corridor based on discussions held with the local community leaders.

The plans, including a species list, have been endorsed by the government. Nursery stock is typically kept at 5,000 seedlings. Female members of the local indigenous community source the non-commercial seedings from nearby forests. These are subsequently nurtured into saplings. Large-scale planting by male members of the community coincides with the rainy seasons. This includes ground preparation and maintaining the trees up to 7 years. CAT Walk participants supplement these efforts by planting, watering and weeding trees year round.

Habitat restoration focuses on 210-ha of the most vulnerable and degraded land located at the centre of the 4,000-ha corridor.

Protection

Key conservation actions by both MYCAT’s CAT Walk participants and Community Rangers (CR) include snare and trap disarmament, recording of threats to wildlife, and documentation of the target species (tiger, sambar and gaur) signs.

The combination of patrols and camera trapping facilitate targeted enforcement actions by providing the authorities with detailed data of threats through surveillance and analysis in real time. All data is recorded in on standardised national SMART database managed by the Malaysian government.

In addition to our MYCAT’s own CR who are employed from the local community, MYCAT is appointed to manage 15 to 20 government CR at the project site. CRs undergo continuous training and monitoring. All CRs report to MYCAT, and MYCAT reports collective outputs to the Malaysian government monthly. At a national level, MYCAT along with other NGOs meet with the enforcement agencies (Wildlife, Forestry, Custom, Police) on a quarterly basis.