Saving Endangered Tigers…
Saving Endangered Species: “Saving the Imperiled Malayan Tiger Needs Worldwide Support!”
Global Tiger Day 2019 (aka International Tiger Day) has just gone by. Created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit, the “Day” was originated to draw worldwide attention to the crisis facing the surviving wild tigers of our world.
Highly organized poachers (paid by poaching syndicates) were killing every tiger they could get. Even tiger cubs. All for the big cats’ highly prized skins, bones and body parts.
If you love animals like we do, then you’ll understand why we believe this time it should become Global Tiger Year. The world population of wild tigers must be be saved. Determined action must be taken this year. Before Global Tiger Day 2020 rolls around.
Saving Endangered Tigers…
Our Endangered Tigers CAN be saved from extinction. Look at the news from Malaysia, under the leadership of Shah Redza…
On July 29th, The Royal Belum National Park sent out a call for international support for World Tiger Day 2019. To “save the critically endangered Malayan tiger!” [1]
In an affecting press release, The Royal Belum made a shocking announcement. “Once estimated at 3,000 animals in Peninsular Malaysia, new studies have shown an alarming drop in tiger populations. Even as the Perak state works with conservation groups to create larger habitats for tigers, the greatest threat to the Malayan tiger is poaching.”
The Royal Belum National Park is managed by the Perak State Park Corporation. It is “home to a number of wild tigers. And is a critical area for the recovery and conservation of the Malayan tiger. Its ambition to double the number of wild tigers in Malaysia needs the support of the global conservation community.”
WWF Malaysia had previously warned that the “influx of foreign poachers into Malaysia’s forests is alarming.”
This followed an earlier warning that a “quiet invasion by poaching syndicates from Indochina” had caused the bloody extinction of the wild tigers of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
And the current population estimate of the Malayan tiger places their numbers at less than 200 animals in all of Peninsular Malaysia.
And all of those “missing” tigers had fallen prey to poachers. Poachers who were armed and supported like modern military mercenaries…
The Wilderness Parks are a battlefield. And courageous, outnumbered, outgunned Park Rangers are fighting a war. Tiger Wars.
The extent of the poaching problem in Royal Belum was evident in a 12-month project that started in 2017. With funding provided by the Sime Darby Foundation, a five-man foot patrol team was created to complement the current three teams of State Park Rangers.
The team consisted of two park rangers, assisted by three indigenous guides from the Jahai tribe. The team was able to “dismantle 200 traps and snares and cleared dozens of illegal camps that were set up by the poachers.”
The Foundation had given additional funding for another five man patrol team in 2018. But this is still insufficient to cover the 117,500 hectares of lush tropical rain-forest that is the Royal Belum National Park.
More boots on the ground will be critical in the next five years if the threat of extinction due to poaching is to be effectively curbed. The target is simple: Zero Poaching.
According to Shah Redza, the General Manager of Perak State Park Corporation, their “findings showed clear evidence that organized poaching syndicates were behind the illegal activities in Royal Belum National Park.”
Interrogations of arrested poachers have revealed a well-organized drive to poach the last remaining endangered wildlife in Royal Belum.
“We have established up to 15-day patrols. The team covers selected areas to look for illegal activities. The time constraint is due to the fact that our patrol teams can carry only so much food and supplies on their backs. But what we found out from interrogations of arrested poachers is that they have a ground support system to replenish food supplies for up to five months.”
As Shah Redza explained, “the poachers can stay in the forests for extended periods, since they also consume whatever animals they catch. Whereas the park rangers are limited to only foods they brought in.”
The State Park requires forward base camps in deep forest. So that Rangers can cover more areas without the burden of having to carry heavy rations.
“We have seen cases of barking deer carcasses being used as bait for tigers. Judging from what we found, the poachers had removed parts of it for their own consumption and left the rest of it as bait to attract big carnivores like our tigers.”
The success of the initial project has led to extended funding by the Sime Darby Foundation. Which will see additional boots added in a second team to patrol the critical habitat of tigers in Royal Belum.
The Perak State Park Corporation is also reaching out to the indigenous peoples of Royal Belum from the Jahai tribe. The outreach has seen the creation of a Council of Elders from the tribe to engage them in the fight against poachers.
And Panthera was also enlisted in July 2019 to provide Specialized Advanced Tactical Training of the anti-poaching teams in Royal Belum. Panthera is the worldwide organization supporting the preservation of the Big Cats and their habitats.
“We will need all the help we can get to save the Malayan tiger,” concluded Shah Redza.
The Shah hopes the call for global support for the conservation of tigers in Malaysia will be answered.
Yes, we say, the call will be answered! “Tigers Forever!”
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[1] To learn more about the The Royal Belum National Park of Malaysia and how to support their cause, see their website: www.royalbelum.my
Source: The Royal Belum National Park, PRNewswire & Civilized Bears.
TIGER WARS: Saving Endangered Malayan Tigers from Poaching Syndicate Mercenaries
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