The roar of these magnificent creatures will soon be a mere echo of the past as their fabled ninth life has turned into their last plight for survival.
Since 1895, the "King of the Jungle" has been a national inspiration; its majestic figures gracing coat-of-arms and institutional crests, leaving an indelible mark on the nation's identity.
Representing strength and courage, the Panthera tigris, or Tigers, are a stoic embodiment of Malaysia's progress into the country that she is today.
Fast-forward to 2010, there are as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild, barely spread across 13 countries.
This is a drastic decline from the 100,000 wild tigers that roamed as recently as a century ago, having lost 93% of its original habitat to humans during the period.
Out of the nine tiger sub-species that existed worldwide, three have been lost to extinction--the Balinese, Caspian and Javan. Research recognised the Malayan tiger as one of the six living tiger sub-species apart from the Amur tiger, Sumatran tiger, Bengal tiger, South China tiger and Northern mainland Indochinese tiger.
Some tiger populations could be pushed to the same fate, including the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni/Panthera tigris Malayensis). Recognised as the ninth sub-species in 2004, the Malayan tiger is unique to the Malay Peninsula. More....