MALAYAN TIGER

Panthera tigris jacksoni IUCN status: Critically Endangered

Named in honour of famous tiger conservationist, Peter Jackson, the Pantera tigris jacksoni, or Malayan tiger, is found only in the forests of Peninsular Malaysia and the southern tip of Thailand. They were originally classfied as Indochinese tigers until DNA testing in 2014 showed the Malayan tiger to be a separate sub-species. The last Malayan tiger in Singapore was shot dead in Choa Chu Kang in 1932. The destruction of forests for timber, plantations and roads have greatly reduced their hunting grounds from 98,800 square kilometres before the 1970s to about 44,700 square kilometres in 2014. They are also illegally hunted for their body parts for Chinese medicine. There are only about 250 to 340 Malayan tigers left in Southeast Asia. Wildlife organisations such as Pantera and WWF are trying to support the conservation of the tiger through data collection and education.