(MY) tiger conservation workshop

[Guest guest]

Cover Story: Let the beast prosper - New Straits Times

13 Nov 2006

SAM CHEONG

 

 

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If the Malayan Tiger is to continue to survive, the public must play

its part, writes SAM CHEONG, who was at the recent Tiger Conservation

Workshop held in Pahang.

 

IF there is a place where the Malayan Tiger (genus Pantera Tigris) can

" live long and prosper " , it has to be in our very own jungles. Despite

being threatened by illegal poaching and human conflict in its natural

habitat, our nation's largest cat specie still has a stable population

in the wild.

 

This can be attributed to more than 30 years of conservation work by

the Government as well as the direct involvement of non-governmental

organisations like the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). Researcher Kae

Kawanishi, who specialises in the Malayan tiger, predicts that the

number of tigers in the wild will actually increase if their

conservation area remains protected from human intrusion and poachers.

 

 

 

She added that there is an estimated 500 to 1,100 cats in the wild

based on data collected by remote monitoring work carried out by

organisations like WWF and the Department of Wildlife.

 

" The highest concentration of tigers is around Perak, Pahang,

Terengganu and Kelantan where conservation areas like Belum-Temenggor

and Taman Negara are located, " she explained.

 

Kawanishi was speaking at the first Tiger Conservation Workshop in the

Wildlife Department's Bio-Diversity training centre in Lanchang,

Pahang.

 

Save The Tiger Fund spokesman John Steidensticker said the tiger

population in Peninsular Malaysia is remarkable despite the great

pressures brought about by the destruction of its natural habitat and

conflicts with humans.

 

Commenting on the long-term action plan on the conservation of the

Malayan tiger, Wildlife Department Director Rashid Shamsudin said the

Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (Mycat) will make the

necessary recommendations to the Government.

 

" Efforts to raise awareness among the public is ongoing and I urge

people who have information about illegal poaching of tigers to get in

touch with us so that immediate action can be taken, " he said.

 

The department's Director of Law Enforcement Misliah Mohd Bashir said

around one case of illegal harvesting of tigers and its parts is

reported annually.

 

" This is based on official statistics from enforcement activities

throughout the Peninsular. The department has also carried out joint

operations with the army to flush out foreign poachers.

 

" Since 2002, we have apprehended more than 75 people, mostly

foreigners, for illegal poaching. They have been charged in court

under the Wildlife Protection Act and Immigration Act. "

 

Misliah added that the street price for a tiger is estimated at

RM60,000 per carcass. Its body parts and organs are harvested and sold

in China where the value is based on the foreign exchange.