At least 5,000 wildlife rangers are needed to patrol habitats in Peninsular Malaysia, a conservation group said in a report by New Strait Times.
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Malaysia, the local chapter of an international organisation headquartered in New York, added that more personnel were essential to curb poaching, a major factor in the decline of tigers and their prey species.
Poaching, food loss and diminishing habitat have slashed the population from 3,000 in the 1950s to less than 150 roaming free today, according to official estimates.
Its country director, Dr Mark Rayan Darmaraj, said poaching had escalated sharply in recent decades.
“Prior to two decades ago, there were only isolated incidences of snaring. Since then, thousands of snares have been detected in our forests. Massive snaring by locals and Indochinese poachers can wipe out tigers and other large mammals within a short time.”
Darmaraj said tigers required large prey, such as sambar deer, to thrive. However, the deer population has dwindled due to local hunting, further contributing to the Malayan Tiger’s decline.
The key issue, he said, was that Malaysia simply did not have enough frontline rangers.
“A minimum of 10 rangers for every 100sq km is needed to monitor, detect, and deter poachers.”
This translates to at least 5,000 rangers for Peninsular Malaysia.
While acknowledging that securing resources would be “extremely challenging”, Darmaraj said there were encouraging developments in recent years.
He highlighted two initiatives — Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah (OBK) and the Community Ranger programme, which boost enforcement and patrol presence.
“OBK has been an important aspect of wildlife conservation and is a model of collaboration and use of existing resources,” he said.
