For two years, Malaysian conservationists tracked a tiger named “Bulan” as she raised four cubs. Then a fatal traffic accident made her another statistic in the country’s dwindling population.<\/p>\n
Malaysia’s 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’s 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
“We were devastated when we lost her,” said Lara Ariffin, president of the Tiger Protection Society of Malaysia (RIMAU).<\/p>\n
“Not only that, she was butchered after she was run over,” Ariffin told AFP, showing graphic pictures of the animal’s carcass.<\/p>\n
“They took her canines, they took her claws. For me, it was like desecrating the dead.”<\/p>\n
The fate of the apex predator’s 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
– ‘Serious money’ –<\/p>\n
A single Malayan tiger carcass can fetch around $60,000 on the black market, according to Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks.<\/p>\n
“The pelt alone can fetch around RM100,000 ($24,000), while a tiger penis has been valued at RM20,000 ($5,000),” the department’s 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 — used in acupuncture — fetch around $118 each, Kadir said.<\/p>\n
The department did not respond to AFP’s 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’s top internal security and public order police officer told local media.<\/p>\n
“These figures tell you poaching is no longer a small-scale crime. It is organised, cross-border — and backed by serious money,” Azmi Abu Kassim said.<\/p>\n
– ‘No overnight success’ –<\/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
“Malaysia has made great progress in fighting illegal poaching,” said Ariffin, who produced a documentary called “Malaysia’s Last Tigers”.<\/p>\n
“We are moving in the right direction, but there is no guaranteed success overnight.”<\/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
“The first line of defence is not there, meaning we don’t have enough front-line rangers to protect our wildlife from poachers,” WCS country director Mark\u00a0Rayan Darmaraj told AFP.<\/p>\n
“Poachers are still able to operate simply because they outnumber enforcement personnel, and once they’re inside the jungle, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack,” he said.<\/p>\n
That’s a view echoed by other NGOs working on conservation.<\/p>\n
“The issue is not a lack of commitment, but a lack of capacity,” WWF-Malaysia told AFP.<\/p>\n
“The next 10 years will decide whether we can bring back the roar of the Malayan tiger.”<\/p>\n
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