USING IMPERFECT SCIENCE AND DATATO ASSESS THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF THE MALAYAN TIGER, LEOPARD AND CLOUDED LEOPARD

The Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), Malaysia’s national symbol, is now on the brink of extinction. With fewer than 150 individuals remaining, the Malayan tiger and possibly other large carnivores continue to face persistent threats from poaching, prey depletion, and habitat loss. Drawing upon multiple sources of data, and open-source information, this paper attempts to provide an overview of the status of the Malayan tiger and Peninsular Malaysia’s two other big cat species – the leopard (Panthera pardus) and clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). Although less is known about the latter two large felids, limited published literature and by-catch camera-trap information from tiger-centric surveys on these two species are assessed to further understand conservation implications. Where available, case studies from key conservation sites using imperfect science and data, are presented as examples to highlight opportunities or gaps that need to be addressed to enhance the conservation of all three species. How past and ongoing conservation initiatives by the government in collaboration with NGOs and local communities, have evolved and continue to shape and influence conservation management is also discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting the need to integrate science-based information, threat assessments and other key management perspectives so that a better understanding of the conservation status of Malaysia’s three large felid species can be gained to support their long-term conservation and recovery.
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DR. MARK RAYAN DARMARAJ

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

Dr. Mark Rayan Darmaraj joined WCS in January 2021 as the Coun- try Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society Malaysia Program. He completed his PhD in Biodiversity Management in 2012 at DICE, University of Kent, UK and received the Thomas Huxley Prize award from the Zoological Society of London for the best PhD thesis in the UK for the year 2013 and the Fiona Alexander Prize award in 2014 for being an outstanding PhD student from DICE. He has over 20 years of experience in wildlife conservation. He was the first and thus far the only Malaysian with a PhD on tiger ecology and is a member of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission – Cat Specialist Group for Malaysia. He has published articles and journals on different spe- cies from large mammals to small carnivores and has garnered media attention as part of advocacy efforts to prioritize Malaysian wildlife conservation.