A recent spate of alarming deaths has heightened fears for the Malayan tiger, wildlife authorities and conservationists say, with some calling the threat to Malaysia’s emblematic animal a “national emergency.”

Native to the jungles of peninsular Malaysia, the majestic feline subspecies is critically endangered, with fewer than 150 believed to be left in the wild due to habitat loss, illegal poaching and a decline in prey.

Found on Malaysia’s coat of arms and considered a national heritage symbol, its numbers have plummeted since the 1950s, when around 3,000 roamed the Southeast Asian country, officials say.

Against that already grim backdrop, photos and videos of a dead Malayan tiger went viral on social media in late June. The carcass, found bloated and floating in a stream in the rural northern state of Kelantan, was discovered by forest rangers.

There was no sign of injury from snares or gunshots, and state forestry officials are conducting a post-mortem examination.

The images provoked strong reactions from many in Malaysia, who noted the urgency of saving their national symbol from extinction.

“The plight of Malayan tigers is a national crisis that requires the full attention and commitment of all Malaysians,” said Henry Chan, director of conservation at the World Wildlife Fund Malaysia (WWF).

Stronger conservation efforts are needed, he added, such as enhancing patrols in critical tiger habitats and leveraging advanced technology such as camera traps and drones for monitoring and surveillance.

“These magnificent creatures continue to teeter on the brink of extinction,” Chan said.

“Losing just one tiger brings the entire species closer to extinction, making every individual tiger’s life extremely critical to the survival of the species.”

“The Malayan tiger is on the brink of extinction with fewer than 150 remaining in the wild,” said Mark Rayan Darmaraj, country director of Wildlife Conservation Society Malaysia, who noted that suspected poachers were arrested in a separate case in the nearby state of Pahang, “in possession of the skull and bones of a tiger.”

“They suffer from habitat loss, prey depletion and retaliatory killings stemming from human-tiger conflicts,” he said.

“Additionally, the construction of roads through their habitats increases the risk of fatal vehicle collisions as seen in several recent incidents.”

On July 6, authorities in the western state of Perak were alerted to a dead tiger found in a storm drain off a major highway. Estimated to have been around 4 years old, the adult male had been hit by a car, officials said.

A month earlier, the body of another adult tiger was found by an expressway in Pahang state. Officials believe the tiger, believed to have been 5 years old, was run over by a vehicle while trying to cross the road from a nearby forest reserve.

It was the fourth Malayan tiger killed by a vehicle collision between November 2023 and May 2024, according to authorities.

The Malayan tiger was recognized as a subspecies in 2004. Like all tigers, they are excellent swimmers and powerful apex predators.

Smaller than Indonesia’s Sumatran tigers and the Bengal tigers found across South Asia, Malayan tigers can grow to about 2.5 meters long and weigh up to 130 kilograms, experts say, and need large swaths of forest to roam. Their slightly darker, reddish-orange coats also distinguish them from other tiger species.

In an eight-year National Tiger Conservation Action Plan released in collaboration with non-profit groups in 2020, Malaysian officials outlined priorities such as conservation tools and a national plan to aid conservation efforts.

“By implementing a suite of concerted actions, backed by political commitment and public support, we as a nation and as part of the global conservation community can ensure that one of the most majestic and charismatic animals with which we share the planet will not vanish,” the action plan said.

(SD-Agencies)

野生动物管理机构和保护主义者说，最近发生的一系列令人震惊的马来亚虎死亡事件加剧了人们的担忧，一些人称马来西亚标志性动物面临的威胁是“全国危机”。

马来亚虎原产于马来西亚半岛的丛林中，由于栖息地丧失、非法偷猎和食物减少，这一威严的猫科动物亚种已极度濒危，据信野外仅存不到150只。马来西亚的国徽上就有这种猫科动物，一直以来它们被视为国家的象征。

在此严峻的情况下，6月底，一具马来亚虎尸体的照片和视频在社交媒体上疯传。护林员在北部吉兰丹州乡村的一条溪流中发现了这具臃肿的浮尸，外表看不出有落入陷阱受伤或枪伤的痕迹。州林业官员正在对死虎进行尸检。

图片引起了很多马来西亚人的强烈反响，他们呼吁拯救马来亚虎免于灭绝已迫在眉睫。

世界自然基金会马来西亚分会（WWF）保护部主任亨利•陈说：“马来亚虎的困境是一场国家危机，需要所有人的关注和投入。”

他补充说，需要加大保护力度，例如加强对老虎重点栖息地的巡逻，利用摄像头和无人机等先进技术进行监测和监视。

陈说：“这些壮美的动物还在濒临灭绝的边缘徘徊。每失去一只虎就让种群离灭绝更近一点，因此每只虎的生命对于物种的生存都至关重要。”

马来西亚野生动物保护协会主任马克•拉扬•达马拉吉说：“马来亚虎濒临灭绝，野外仅存不到150只。”他指出，在附近彭亨州的另一起案件中，抓到了几个偷猎嫌疑人，搜出了“老虎头骨和其他部位的骨头”。

他说：“栖息地减少、猎物枯竭以及人虎冲突引发的报复性杀戮让老虎饱受折磨。”

“此外，从最近发生的几起事件来看，穿过栖息地的公路增加了老虎遭遇致命车祸的风险。”

7月6日，西部霹雳州当局接到报警，称在一条主要公路旁的排水沟中发现了一只老虎尸体。官方消息称这只成年雄虎4岁左右，是被汽车撞死的。

一个月前，在彭亨州的一条高速公路旁发现了另一只成年老虎的尸体。官员们认为它约5岁，试图从附近的森林保护区穿过公路时不幸被车压死。

据当局称，这是2023年11月至2024年5月间死于车祸的第四只马来亚虎。

马来亚虎2004年被认定为一个亚种，与所有其它老虎一样是游泳健将和食物链顶端的掠食者。

专家说，马来亚虎比印度尼西亚的苏门答腊虎和南亚的孟加拉虎体型更小，成年后约2.5米长，重达130公斤，需要栖息在大片森林中。和其它虎种相比，它们的皮毛呈橘红色，颜色稍深。

在2020年与非营利组织合作发布的为期八年的《国家老虎保护行动计划》中，马来西亚官员概述了优先级的保护措施和国家计划。

该行动计划称：“通过实施一系列共同行动，在政府和公众的支持下，作为一个国家和全球保护社区的一部分，我们可以确保与我们共同生活在这个星球上最雄伟、最具魅力的动物之一不会灭绝。” (Translated by Debra)

Words to Learn

相关词汇

【象征的】xiàngzhēng de

emblematic

symbolic, representative

【纹章】 wénzhāng

coat of arms

a symbol used to identify a noble person, a family or a nation