IT may be the final days for the Malayan tiger. From apex predator to endangered species, it is facing extinction. A Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) study since 2022 found that their numbers have dwindled to below 150, a far cry from the pre-independence high of 3,000.
The mighty tigers are no match for aggressive poachers and habitat devastation. In 2021, the cabinet approved the National Task Force for Malayan Tiger Conservation, a federal-state government collaboration chaired by the prime minister.
How can the tiger's march towards extinction be prevented? In their battles against humans, tigers often lose, their skin, organs and bones taken to be made into dubious elixirs and aphrodisiacs. With their habitats ravaged, many tigers die of starvation.
Or they get crushed by vehicles when they venture out of their habitats seeking prey. It's obvious that initiatives encouraging people to report poaching and illegal wildlife merchandising can't protect the tiger, Malaysia's symbol of strength and courage.
Since tiger extinction is brought on by poaching and habitat destruction, bold and creative initiatives must replace traditional conservation methods and conventional laws and campaigns.
First, we must end poaching by stepping up education on wildlife endangerment and offer bounties on poachers. Form crack units of rangers comprising commandos and ex-servicemen with the gumption to take on poachers. Besides equipping rangers with jungle-terrain vehicles and bushcraft gear, arm them with weapons as protection, as going up against poachers is risky to life and limb. Give rangers all-weather uniforms, rations and animal feed. Rangers must treat their jobs like they are soldiers. And they should be recognised like we honour gallantry in the armed services.
Second, unless they are Orang Asli, act against wildlife "aficionados" and retailers using cultural and ethnic norms to justify the trading and eating of exotic wild game or the buying of medicine derived from protected animals. Indict these belligerents like how we criminalise drug trafficking and possession if they insist on hanging on to their wildlife trophies and trinkets.
Third, delicate animal habitats must be shielded against the rapaciousness to clear forests for industrialisation, housing and agriculture. Conservation should be codified with alternative economic strategies and sustainable practices in place of flattened wildlife habitats.
Taxes from eco-tourism, commercialisation and merchandising should directly go to hiring more rangers, buying more equipment and improving wildlife management. Remember: deforestation, legal or illegal, kills biodiversity and enables poaching — extinction's killer blow. If tigers go extinct, it'll be a bad omen: at stake is Malaysia's official coat-of-arms and national football mascot, and a nation's wounded soul.