IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
| Anonymous, | |
| Status, Ecology and Conservation of Tigers in Peninsular Malaysia | |
| 2004 Full Book | |
Malaysia is one of fourteen range countries for the Tiger (_Panthera tigris_) and extensive tracts of montane forests and fragmented lowland forests in Peninsular Malaysia form high potential habitat for the species. These same tiger areas are recognized as ecoregions of global importance for biodiversity conservation. 2. In the last two decades, tigers have become a species of increasing national concern due to the conflicting issues of increasing frequency of livestock depredation and human injury, but also increasing concern over the conservation future of the species. 3. With increasing demands on public lands to support economic development, habitats for tigers and other wildlife continue to be compromised. As part of Malaysia's strategy of balancing development with conservation, there is an urgent need to incorporate tiger conservation into national development strategies. 4. The Tiger is a wide-ranging species with relatively large area requirements, but also relatively high resilience to human disturbance. Therefore it is a useful indicator of ecosystem health since only where sufficient habitat, prey, and water occur can the Tiger survive. Also, in Malaysia, the Tiger is a nationally revered species that is Totally Protected by law. For these reasons it provides a convenient flagship and target species for monitoring. 5. During 1997-2001 a national tiger conservation program was conducted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) with the support of international conservation agencies Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), WWF - Malaysia, and the University of Florida. The objectives of the programme were to assess the current conservation status of tigers in Peninsular Malaysia, study tiger ecology, use the results to make management recommendations, and develop staff capacity to manage tigers. This report covers fieldwork conducted by DWNP and WCS during 1997-1999. 6. Nine sites were chosen for tiger survey across four states: Pahang, Trengganu, Kelantan and Perak. Eleven variables describing microhabitat structure were measured at each sampling location. Principal components analysis (PCA) was used to identify two major gradients in habitat disturbance and identify relatively disturbed sites (Lepar, Gunong Tebu, Ulu Temiang) from relatively less disturbed sites (Temenggor, Taman Negara, Bintang Hijau). 7. Surveys involving 6,259 trapnights of sampling using 174 camera-trap setups revealed the presence of tiger and 38 other mammals, almost half of which were globally threatened species. Also recorded were twelve species of large reptile and bird including five globally threatened or near-threatened species. 8. Ten individual tigers were recorded from 51 photographs at six of the nine sites. Tigers were detected at a quarter of all sampling locations (range=0- 2 48% per site), and at a frequency of 4.8ñ0.5 detections/100 trapnights (range=0-5.9 detections/100 trapnights per site). 9. Activity patterns were inferred for tiger, other carnivores, and prey species from the time imprinted on photographs. Tigers showed a crepuscular pattern of activity and apparently avoided periods when human traffic was greatest. Human activity was recorded at all sites except for Bintang Hijau. Overall human traffic occurred across 20% of the sampling areas. 10. Photographs from camera-traps were used to identify tiger individuals from their unique stripe patterns. The photographs were used to generate capture histories for tigers. These were used along with a capture-recapture approach to determine statistically the probability of capture for tigers and sample estimates of abundance at different sites. Coefficients of variation for abundance estimates ranged from 2 to 392% reflecting low numbers of recaptures. 11. Tiger density was estimated from the sample abundance estimates and by assuming a sampling effective area for each site. This area was calculated by adding a buffer to the configuration of camera-traps equal to the absolute maximum movement distance (AMDM) of tigers. Tiger density varied from extremely low (<1 tiger/100km2) at three sites (Lepar, Ayer Ngah, Bintang Hijau and Gunong Tebu) to very low (1-2 tigers/100km2) at Ulu Temiang to low (>2 tigers/100km2) at Temenggor. 12. Despite intensive sampling, because the capture rates for tigers were low, and captures took place over a one-year period, extrapolating a statistical estimate of tiger abundance across Peninsular Malaysia is difficult at best. Nonetheless, population estimates for tigers were attempted for individual reserves, for Tiger Conservation Units (TCUs) and for all areas in Peninsular Malaysia by assessing (1) population density, (2) forest size and (3) a correction factor to take into account avoidance of habitat due to roads, powerlines, settlements and other human infrastructure. While these estimates are very rough indeed, they provide an estimate of the national population of 184-305 tigers, most of which occur in one Level I TCU (TCU#129; 173-257 tigers). This is less than half of the previous estimate for Peninsular Malaysia. 13. Tigers are threatened by a range of factors chiefly habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting of prey, commercial trade in live animals, dead animals and their parts, and harassment and displacement. Immediate action is needed to reduce these threats in the short-term (next five years) and to recover populations of wild tigers in Peninsular Malaysia in the longer-term (5-20 years from now |
|
 |
PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here |
(c) IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group ( IUCN - The World Conservation Union) |