KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- The Malayan Tiger has long been celebrated as a national symbol of strength and power in Malaysia, proudly gracing the nation’s coat of arms, royal insignia, and other emblems of authority.
Yet, despite its revered status, the Malayan Tiger faces an uncertain future. The tiger’s presence may soon be confined to cultural symbols and the nickname of the national football team as the species battles against escalating threats to its survival.
The preliminary results from Malaysia’s first National Tiger Survey, conducted between 2016 and 2020, reveal a dramatic decline in the country’s tiger population.
The survey conducted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, WWF-Malaysia and various NGOs, found that fewer than 150 tigers remained in Peninsular Malaysia by 2022.
This is a sharp drop from the previous estimate of 250-340 tigers.
This alarming decline is even more striking when compared to the 1950s, when Malaysia was believed to have a thriving population of around 3,000 tigers.
The Malayan tiger is now classified as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
This means it has an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
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