Malayan tiger

The Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a tiger population in Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula, and has been classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2015. The population was roughly estimated at 250 to 340 adult individuals in 2013, and likely comprises less than 200 mature breeding individuals and has a declining trend. In the Malay language, the tiger is called harimau, also abbreviated to rimau. When in 1968 Panthera tigris corbetti was designated, the Malayan tiger was included into this subspecies. In 2004, Panthera tigris jacksoni was recognised as a distinct subspecies as a genetic analysis indicated differences in mtDNA and micro-satellite sequences to Panthera tigris corbetti. Since revision of felid taxonomy in 2017, the Malayan tiger is recognised as a P. t. tigris population. However, a genetic study published in 2018 supported six monophyletic clades based on whole-genome sequencing analysis of 32 specimens. The Malayan tiger appeared to be distinct from other mainland Asian tiger specimens, thus supporting the concept of six subspecies. There is no clear difference between the Malayan and the Indochinese tigers, when specimens from the two regions are compared cranially or in pelage. No type specimen was designated. Malayan tigers appear to be smaller than Bengal tigers. From measurements of 11 males and 8 females, the average length of a male is 8 ft 6 in (259 cm), and of a female 7 ft 10 in (239 cm).Body length of 16 female tigers in the State of Terengganu ranged from 70 to 103 in (180 to 260 cm) and averaged 80.1 in (203 cm). Their height ranged from 23 to 41 in (58 to 104 cm), and their body weight from 52 to 195 lb (24 to 88 kg). Data from 21 males in the State of Terengganu showed that total length ranged from 75 to 112 in (190 to 280 cm), with an average of 94.2 in (239 cm). Their height ranged from 24 to 45 in (61 to 114 cm), and their body weight from 104 to 284.7 lb (47.2 to 129.1 kg). The geographic division between Malayan and Indochinese tigers is unclear as tiger populations in northern Malaysia are contiguous with those in southern Thailand. In Singapore tigers were extirpated in the 1950s, and the last one shot in 1932. Between 1991 and 2003, tiger signs were reported from early-succession vegetation fields, agricultural areas outside forests in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Johor, and many riparian habitats outside forests in Pahang, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Johor. Most of the major rivers that drain into the South China Sea had some evidence of tigers, whereas those draining into the Straits of Malacca in the west did not.