68

wildlife

In 2014, tiger conservationistsrevealed that despite having thetarget of doubling the Malaysian tigerpopulation to 1,000 by 2020, all thatremained were an estimated 300 tigers.The world over, tiger experts fromvarious sectors have been attemptingto devise tiger-saving mechanisms, butwith little success. Globally, fewer than

3,000 linger on, down from a 100,000 a mere century ago.

But it is undeniable that the tiger might already be extinct in the wild if not for conscious conservation efforts by many.

The recent publication MYCAT Tracks: The Malayan Tiger’s Struggle for Existence profiles over a decade

of trials and tribulations of Malayan tiger conservation. Published by the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT), it makes a frightening prediction – Malayan tigers will disappear from most forests within the next 10 years if Malaysia does not up her game right now.

PHOTO NAJJUA ZULKEFLI/ZUMA PRESS/CORBIS

The Dwindling Roar of the Wildmalayan tigers get a boost to support on-the-ground protectionBy Loretta Ann Shepherd