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| © Wild Aid Thailand |
It is estimated that tiger populations have declined by 97% over the
past hundred years. Loss of habitat and poaching of both tigers and
their prey have brought this iconic species to the brink of extinction.
Today the remaining 3,200 tigers are scattered in around 70 pockets of
forests across 14 countries - some of these populations are too small to
survive in the long run.
In Malaysia and the other countries where tigers occur, habitat loss, forest fragmentation, poaching, illegal trade of tiger parts and derivatives, depletion of prey species and the conflict with people are the main threats to tigers.
Indirect threats include retaliatory killing or removal by the authorities after conflict, killings from snares set for other wildlife, poor livestock and plantation management and a lack of public awareness and support.
Poaching for consumption is an increasing threat in Malaysia and elsewhere. Almost every body part of the tiger is thought by some to have curative or ‘magical’ powers. Its meat is served as a delicacy in exotic meat restaurants and other body parts such as the teeth, claws and skin are also sought after. Monitoring the number of tigers which are killed each year is very difficult.
In Malaysia and the other countries where tigers occur, habitat loss, forest fragmentation, poaching, illegal trade of tiger parts and derivatives, depletion of prey species and the conflict with people are the main threats to tigers.
Indirect threats include retaliatory killing or removal by the authorities after conflict, killings from snares set for other wildlife, poor livestock and plantation management and a lack of public awareness and support.
Poaching for consumption is an increasing threat in Malaysia and elsewhere. Almost every body part of the tiger is thought by some to have curative or ‘magical’ powers. Its meat is served as a delicacy in exotic meat restaurants and other body parts such as the teeth, claws and skin are also sought after. Monitoring the number of tigers which are killed each year is very difficult.
