Malayan Tiger

Malayan Tiger Facts

The Malayan Tiger is only found around the Malayan Pennisula which is where the name comes from. This is the newest species of tiger to be identified as it has only been recognized as a subspecies since 2004. They are the smallest in size of all the species of tigers. They are very often confused with the Sumatran Tiger due to their small size and their coloring. In fact, some people think that they are looking at photos of a young tiger instead of one that is a full grown adult with this species.

The main food source for these smaller tigers are deer and livestock. I don’t have to tell you that the fact that they kill large numbers of livestock doesn’t go over very well with humans. In fact, it is believed that this is the biggest threat to them. Humans want to destroy them so that they can’t continue to destroy their livestock. The Malayan Tiger is also known to kill humans but again that is likely due to a lack of prey to choose from and the fact that humans are moving into their natural habitat.

To help increase the number of Malayan Tigers out there, you will discover that there is a huge breeding facility in Malaysia. In the past 10 years they have been successful with breeding more than 40 of these animals. Their cubs have been sent to various zoos around the world to help keep them safe. The number that are breed is still low though due to the huge amount of testing that must be done. This is to ensure the genetic coding of the parents isn’t too similar. It is also done to help eliminate some physical deformities that are genetically linked as well.

There are only about 800 Malayan Tigers level in the wild so their population is extremely low. Right now there is a huge debate over the naming of them. In Malaysia they are upset that they didn’t the right to help name this newest species of tigers. There are many that feel they should have been named after the man that had a theory about their existence and then completed the genetic testing to proof it. They feel it is important to recognize him for the work and for the information he brought to light.

In spite of the name, there is no doubt that Malaysia is extremely proud of this discovery. In fact many businesses have it as part of their logo or their brand identity. The Coat of Arms has also been updated to add to of these tigers to the design of it. People all over the world have a fascination for it as well. It seems that they don’t want to this new discover to be one that is so quickly just archived to the history books.

One of the huge concerns is that it is believed about 90% of them in the wild reside in areas that are beyond what is protected. Therefore effectively mapping out these other locations so that pressure can be placed upon the government to protect in those areas as well is very important. Additional fines and even jail sentences for the illegal killing of them is also something that needs to be actively pursued.

That is why you will find many campaigns out there to raise money for the further research and protection of the Malayan Tigers. This won’t be easy due to what is going on with their natural habitat and the low numbers. However, there are significant efforts already in place so it is possible that one day they will see their name removed from the list of endangered species.