Panthera tigris jacksoni

Strong and tall, majestic, with gorgeous fur and a round head. Unlike lions with long snouts and narrow faces, tigers have short and wide snouts, which make their heads look big and round. They have large eyes and long white whiskers with black spots around their mouths, which are about 15 cm long. They have thick and short necks, almost as wide as their shoulders. Their shoulders, chest, abdomen and hips are narrow and flattened laterally. They have strong limbs and very sharp canine teeth and claws. The base color of the whole body is orange-yellow, the belly and the inner side of the limbs are white, there are two rows of black vertical stripes on the back, there are about 10 black rings on the tail, and there is a white area above the eyes.
The Malayan tiger is smaller than the other subspecies. It is the second smallest of the six existing tiger species, and is slightly larger than the Sumatran tiger. Males are about 2.5 meters long, and females are about 2.4 meters long. The l

The Malayan tiger is only found in the Malay Peninsula (i.e. West Malaysia and southern Thailand), and no tiger has ever been found in Borneo (i.e. East Malaysia, Brunei and Kalimantan). In Malaysia, from the forests of the Malaysia-Thailand border in the north to the southernmost tip of the Asian continent, the Malayan tiger is sparsely scattered in three major tiger reserves: the main range (20,000 square kilometers), the Malaysian National Park (15,000 square kilometers) and the forest area in the south (10,000 square kilometers). In addition, tigers are also found in some isolated small forests, secondary vegetation, sparsely populated areas on the east coast and abandoned agricultural areas with low road density. Among them, 88% of the Malayan tigers can be found in the four states of Perak, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu.
The Malayan tiger is a typical mountain forest-dwelling animal, living in tropical rainforests and evergreen broad-leaved forests in various parts of the ce

The Malayan tiger (scientific name: Panthera tigris jacksoni) is the third smallest tiger, slightly larger than the Sumatran tiger and the Bali tiger, and equivalent to the average weight of an African lioness. The Malayan tiger is a newly confirmed tiger subspecies in 2004. It is distributed in Malaysia and Thailand in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula. It has been classified as a population of Indochinese tigers before. This new classification was obtained by Luo Shu-Jin and others in the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer Institute of the United States.

While the news that the Malayan tiger was confirmed as a separate subspecies of tiger was welcomed in Malaysia, the matter soon became controversial over the scientific name of the Malayan tiger. Researchers proposed the name "Jackson's Tiger" (Panthera tigris jacksoni) to commemorate zoologist Peter Jackson's contributions to the study of big cats. However, the Malaysian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (MAZPA) and the Malaysian government have argued that Malaysia should have the right to participate in the naming of its national symbol. Malaysia insists that the naming should refer to its geographical location, "Malaya", so in Malaysia, the Malayan tiger is also known as "Malayan Tiger" (Panthera tigris malayensis).

Malayan tigers often move alone, and only live together during the breeding season. Each tiger has its own territory. When male and female tigers patrol their territory, they will raise their tails and spray strong-smelling secretions and urine on tree trunks or bushes to define their sphere of influence. Sometimes they will also use their sharp claws to scratch on tree trunks or roll on the ground, leaving tiger hair to define their sphere of influence. Although tigers are solitary animals and have their own territories, male tigers may often stay with their mates and children. Adult tigers, especially siblings, are likely to cooperate with each other for a period of time (it is unknown whether it is long-term) and share the harvest. There may be more than one female tiger in the territory of a male tiger, but the territories of female tigers may not overlap. Male tigers strictly defend their territories. If the territory is too large, it is inevitable that someone will want to take advantage. When facing intruders, male tigers usually pursue a policy of killing, and this can also reduce their future competitors. Female tigers are generally not so bored. Even if their neighbors die, they may not expand their territory.

The best attacking weapon of the Malayan tiger is its thick teeth and retractable claws. When hunting, it is extremely ferocious, quick and decisive, and its principle is to consume the least energy to obtain the largest possible harvest. But when hunting wild beasts, it will never do it if it is not sure enough. Tigers have no natural enemies in Asia. Because of the thick pads on their feet, tigers move with little noise and are alert and hidden.

Malayan tigers prey on sambar deer, muntjacs, wild boars and livestock. Tigers in the Malaysian National Park (Taman Negara) also prey on sun bears. Their staple food may also include Indian bison and Malayan tapirs.

The mating period of Malayan tigers usually occurs between early November and the end of March. During this period, each female tiger is in estrus for only about seven days, which means that the male and female live together for only one week. At the beginning of estrus, male and female tigers rely on courtship calls to attract each other. The gestation period is 103 to 105 days, and 2 to 4 cubs are born in one litter. The cubs live with the mother tiger until they are about 2 years old. Lifespan is 15-20 years.

Statistics show that there are about 600 to 800 Malayan tigers in the wild, making it the third largest tiger population after the existing Bengal tiger (2,400) and Indochinese tiger (1,100), but it is still an endangered species.

On January 7, 2022, the Department of Wildlife Conservation and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia and the Malacca Zoo signed a memorandum of cooperation to jointly promote the breeding of Malayan tigers and their return to wild life. On July 6, 2022, local time, the World Wildlife Fund Malaysia issued an announcement stating that the authorities obtained the latest photo of a wild Malayan tiger in Perak, Malaysia, showing a female tiger and four tiger cubs in the wild jungle.

The shield beast on the Malaysian national emblem-the Malayan tiger. The Malayan tiger is one of the national symbols of Malaysia. In addition to appearing on the Malaysian national emblem, it also often appears in the logos of other public institutions, such as Malayan Banking, Proton, the Football Association of Malaysia, the University of Malaya, etc. It symbolizes the bravery and perseverance of the Malaysian people. Locals also gave tigers various nicknames, especially the Malay "Pak Belang" (meaning "Mr. Stripes") is the most representative. "Pak Belang" often appears as the opponent of "Sang Kancil" (Mouse Deer) in Malay folk fables.

Listed in the 2015 Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1 - Critically Endangered (CR).

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