Malayan tiger

		Malayan tiger
		He is a wild animal


Origin			Malaysia
Translation			Francis Vandersteen

The possession of this animal is not authorized Royal Decree establishing the list of mammals not kept for production purposes that may be kept (M.B. 24.08.2009)

The Malayan tiger is a subspecies of tiger that lives in central and southern Malaysia. Its population was estimated at between 493 and 1,480 adults in 2003. In Malaysia, it is known as the harimau belang.

The geographical division between Malayan and Indochinese tigers is unclear, since populations in northern Malaysia are in contact with those in southern Thailand.

Between 1991 and 2003, tiger tracks were observed in fields and agricultural areas outside forests in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Johor, as well as in numerous non-forested riparian areas in Pahang, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor.

Most of the major rivers flowing into the South China Sea contain evidence of tiger passage, while those flowing into the Strait of Malacca to the west do not. No tiger tracks have been reported in Perlis, Penang Island, Malacca or in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya on the west coast. The tiger's potential habitat covers 66,211 km2, of which 37,674 km2 is known to contain the animal. Tigers are present in all protected areas larger than 402 km2.

Malayan tigers feed on sambar, muntjac, wild boar, whiskered boar and saros. Tigers in Taman Negara National Park also feed on Malay bears and elephant calves. However, it is not known whether adult gaur and tapir are among their prey. They occasionally prey on livestock; however, their presence reduces the number of wild boars, which can become a serious threat to plantations and other farmland. Studies show that in regions where large predators (tigers and leopards) are extinct, wild boar are ten times more numerous than elsewhere.

Landscape fragmentation due to development projects and agriculture is a serious threat. Poaching affects tigers differently in different states. In Malaysia in 2007, there had for some years been a considerable domestic market for tiger meat and bones, used in traditional medicine.

Due to a lack of prey, there are only 1.1 to 1.98 tigers per 100 km2 in the rainforests. To maintain a viable population of at least 6 tigresses of reproductive age, reserves must therefore be at least 1,000 km2 in size. Information on tiger diet, body measurements, demographic parameters, social structure, means of communication, home range size and dispersal is lacking.

Tigers are listed in Appendix 1 of CITES, which prohibits international trade. All states and countries harboring tigers have also banned domestic trade.