![\"Malaysian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/c1_5825096_800.jpg\")
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Malaysian experts and officials admit that resources fall far short of what is needed to protect the country\u2019s famed big cat, listed as critically endangered. (Photo: AFP) <\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR – For two years, Malaysian conservationists tracked a tiger named \u201cBulan\u201d as she raised four cubs. Then a fatal traffic accident made her another statistic in the country\u2019s dwindling population.<\/p>\n
Malaysia\u2019s national animal is in trouble.<\/p>\n
Poaching, food loss and diminishing habitat have slashed the population from 3,000 in the 1950s to less than 150 roaming free today, according to official estimates.<\/p>\n
The government said last month it was ramping up efforts to combat wildlife crime, introducing AI-enabled camera traps and methods to detect smuggling at airports.<\/p>\n
But experts and officials admit that resources fall far short of what is needed to protect the country\u2019s famed big cat, listed as critically endangered.<\/p>\n
Bulan (Moon in Malay) was killed on the East-West Highway, a throughfare notorious for animal traffic incidents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were devastated when we lost her,\u201d said Lara Ariffin, president of the Tiger Protection Society of Malaysia (RIMAU).<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only that, she was butchered after she was run over,\u201d Ariffin told AFP, showing graphic pictures of the animal\u2019s carcass.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey took her canines, they took her claws. For me, it was like desecrating the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fate of the apex predator\u2019s population leapt back into local headlines recently after a dead tiger was found in the back of a car in southern Johor state, sparking public outrage.<\/p>\n
Three poachers were later handed seven-year jail sentences and a $59,000 fine, but experts say the business remains enticing.<\/p>\n
\u2019Serious money\u2019<\/p>\n
A single Malayan tiger carcass can fetch around $60,000 on the black market, according to Malaysia\u2019s Department of Wildlife and National Parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pelt alone can fetch around RM100,000 (5,000),\u201d the department\u2019s national director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim told the New Straits Times newspaper last month.<\/p>\n
Tiger bones go for about $1,186 per kilogramme, while teeth, claws, and even whiskers \u2014 used in acupuncture \u2014 fetch around $118 each, Kadir said.<\/p>\n
The department did not respond to AFP\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n
Even animals that escape poachers can be harmed by snares made from cheap plastic, rope or metal cable.<\/p>\n
Camera traps have spotted animals with injuries or even missing limbs.<\/p>\n
Research shows Malaysia feeds demand for tiger parts in Vietnam and further afield in China, with cross-border poaching syndicates using drug, gun and human trafficking routes to move their wares.<\/p>\n
The first six months of 2025 saw 201 wildlife smuggling arrests and seized illegal assets valued at $30.5 million, Malaysia\u2019s top internal security and public order police officer told local media.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese figures tell you poaching is no longer a small-scale crime. It is organised, cross-border \u2014 and backed by serious money,\u201d Azmi Abu Kassim said.<\/p>\n
\u2018No overnight success\u2019<\/p>\n
The Malaysian government admits it has limited manpower, funding and equipment to deal with the challenge, though there are efforts to address the problem.<\/p>\n
Joint operations by Malaysian police and wildlife services have resulted in hundreds of arrests and millions of dollars in seizures, officials said.<\/p>\n
And community-based ranger programmes run by NGOs like RIMAU employ more than 1,000 local community members.<\/p>\n
\u201cMalaysia has made great progress in fighting illegal poaching,\u201d said Ariffin, who produced a documentary called \u201cMalaysia\u2019s Last Tigers\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are moving in the right direction, but there is no guaranteed success overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The local chapter of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society estimates at least 5,000 rangers are needed to properly patrol Malaysia tiger habitats.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first line of defence is not there, meaning we don\u2019t have enough front-line rangers to protect our wildlife from poachers,\u201d WCS country director Mark Rayan Darmaraj told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoachers are still able to operate simply because they outnumber enforcement personnel, and once they\u2019re inside the jungle, it\u2019s like looking for a needle in a haystack,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a view echoed by other NGOs working on conservation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe issue is not a lack of commitment, but a lack of capacity,\u201d WWF-Malaysia told AFP.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next 10 years will decide whether we can bring back the roar of the Malayan tiger.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Malaysian experts and officials admit that resources fall far short of what is needed to protect the country\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[1389,6819,1775,111,139,69,147,22768,406],"class_list":{"0":"post-98077","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-conservation","9":"tag-endangered-species","10":"tag-malaysia","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-tigers","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}