When he was a boy, scientist Dr Mark Rayan Darmaraj used to learn books about tigers. In the books, the tigers, he recollects, are sometimes portrayed because the “king of the jungle”. “This for me – then and even now – means that tigers are the protectors of the forest and all the beings in it,” he says.
For a younger Darmaraj, the tiger was not simply one other charismatic species; from studying all these books and watching each documentary he might, even then he knew that the animal performed a pivotal function in regulating the meals chain in forests.
“I was always drawn to know more, and if possible to experience them firsthand, to understand tiger ecology, how the animals respond to human-induced disturbances and, more importantly, what to do so that they continue to thrive in their natural habitat,” says the 44-year-old Penangite.
ALSO READ: Impregnating Malayan tigers: It’s all in the technique
The first probability he obtained to watch and stroll within the path of the tiger, Darmaraj “grabbed it”, as he put it. “This was when I first started researching tigers in the wild in 2004,” he explains in an e-mail interview.
A 27-year-old Darmaraj within the area, marking an elusive and thrilling sigh: a tiger paw print. — Photo suppliedAt that point, he was working as a analysis assistant for the School of Biological Sciences in Universiti Sains Malaysia, the place he was additionally finishing up his MSc analysis on small mammal ecology and radio telemetry on Gunung Jerai, Kedah.
Today, that very same fascination with tigers has continued to drive Darmaraj’s profession. He is at present the nation director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Malaysia Programme; earlier than that, he led WWF-Malaysia’s tiger conservation programme for over a decade, throughout which he was typically – and nonetheless is – interviewed because the foremost knowledgeable on the critically endangered Malayan tiger.
And whereas he has additionally revealed articles and journals on different species, Darmaraj at present occurs to be the primary and solely Malaysian with a PhD in tiger ecology.
It took 4 years to finish his PhD analysis in 2012 on the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) on the University of Kent in England.
The effort, which focuses on the conservation of tigers and their prey in Peninsular Malaysia, gained him the Thomas Huxley Prize from the Zoological Society of London for the most effective PhD thesis within the United Kingdom in 2013 in addition to the Fiona Alexander Prize in 2014 for being an impressive PhD scholar from DICE.
Far from the tutorial world, Darmaraj’s pursuit of tigers first started in an space in Jeli, Kelantan, the place there had been stories of the animal killing people. It then continued within the Belum-Temenggor Forest Complex in Perak the place he first skilled the heart-breaking snaring of a tiger by poachers. The tiger was rescued however died later in captivity.
Darmaraj then moved on to understanding extra about how the species is faring within the Southern Forest Complex of Endau-Rompin, Pahang, the place WCS Malaysia works.
“My keen interest in knowing more about tigers and other wildlife is in no way over and the journey continues after two decades,” he says.
That journey hasn’t been a stroll within the park – or in his case, the Malaysian jungle – actually and metaphorically.
The elusive nature of the Malayan tiger, which is a grasp at hiding within the dense foliage of the nation’s tropical rainforest, coupled with disturbance elements affecting the species in addition to its habitat and prey, imply that it may be fairly a problem to check the animal.
But he insists it might nonetheless be finished with a lot of area effort, funding and sources.
Even more difficult for Darmaraj is the flexibility to meaningfully interpret the outcomes of area research and supply science-based suggestions to assist preserve the tigers.
“From a research standpoint, I must say that what is severely lacking is more in-depth knowledge on threats such as poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, the lack of prey, and disease vulnerabilities.
“I think we have reached the point where just knowing the number of tigers or where they are found is not sufficient,” he says.
That in itself is an achievement in learning this stealthy animal, although.
The preliminary outcomes of the primary National Tiger Survey, performed from 2016 to 2018, revealed that there are fewer than 200 tigers in 75% of the surveyed plots, down from some 3,000 within the Nineteen Fifties.
In addition to the above talked about obstacles, poaching and human-tiger battle have continued to hinder the conservation of the Malayan tiger, and actually a lot of the wildlife in Malaysia, together with the sambar deer, one of many tiger’s principal prey animals.
With an estimated 150 tigers now left within the wild, the place, moreover poachers, they face hazard from ailments like canine distemper from individuals’s pets, Darmaraj admits that there isn’t a day that goes by with out him feeling that we’re slowly shedding these majestic animals.
In 2019, he was quoted in an English every day, warning that the nation might lose its tigers in “two or three years” and that the species is on the point of extinction.
“If we can’t save our tigers, supposedly the most iconic and charismatic of our animals, what will the future hold for other wildlife in Malaysia?
“Doesn’t that thought sadden or bother you as a Malaysian? Is there still hope?
“It is a hard pill to swallow. But if we ever had a chance to save them before it’s too late, it is now, when strategic intervention is critically needed,” he says.
The 2020 picture that gave scientists hope: The tigress with considered one of its three cubs caught on a digicam lure in Perak. — WWF-Malaysia
Recent initiatives introduced by the Malaysian authorities have sparked hope in Darmaraj – just like the time that digicam traps arrange by WWF-Malaysia in Begum-Temenggor captured pictures of a tigress with three cubs in 2020.
Then, Darmaraj penned a “Message of Hope” that efforts to stabilise the species’ inhabitants have been ultimately beginning to repay.
Public attitudes, he observes, have began to alter too.
“My biggest obstacle in the past had been to first disseminate knowledge about tigers to the general public and to convince politicians and decisionmakers to save tigers and the forest.
“I think we have reached an intermediary stage for both of these, where the man on the street knows that we have wild tigers and it is important to save them, while government initiatives such as the formation of the Tiger Task Force led by the highest political will seems to give some hope.”
Darmaraj cites initiatives such because the anti-poaching Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah, the formation of the National Tiger Conservation Task Force chaired by the Prime Minister, in addition to the organising of a Wildlife Crime Bureau beneath the police as indications that Malaysia is not off course.
He is hoping that the National Tiger Task Force, notably, might be a game-changer.
“It is chaired by the highest political position of the country and has representation of state governments that decide on land matters.
“The question now is will the new initiatives take a ‘business as usual’ approach or will those directing them vigorously work to close gaps in breaking the illegal wildlife trade chain, curbing poaching, preventing forest conversion [from reserved to development status, which means allowing logging and plantations], providing safe passage for wildlife movement, augmenting large prey, and minimising disease vulnerabilities?
“My sincere hope is that we will succeed in saving the king of the Malaysian jungle for future generations to experience, to cherish and be proud of in our country.”
StarLifestyle might be operating a sequence of articles on the conservation of Malayan tigers together with the Year of the Tiger 2022. Join us as we report on the race to avoid wasting from extinction this magnificent animal that’s on Malaysia’s nationwide crest. Share your ideas on the hassle at [email protected].
