HARIMAU Malaya, or Malayan tiger, has been a national icon for over half a century. 

Malaysia’s Coat of Arms feature two Malayan tigers. The name of the national football team is Harimau Malaya while the national hockey team is called the Speedy Tigers.

In theory, Malaysians hold the Malayan tiger in high esteem. However, when it comes to the protection and conservation of the species, how well do they hold up?

Sadly, there might be as few as 250 Malayan tigers left in Peninsular Malaysia, according to WWF-Malaysia (World Wide Fund for Nature). This is in contrast to 500 in 1990 and around 5,000 in 1950.

The drastic dwindling of its population is due to poaching and loss of habitat due to the number of forests being cleared to build roads and other development projects.

Ceo of Zoo Melaka and Night Safari, R. Raja Segran said the greatest challenge faced by every zoo is to translate visitor enthusiasm into love for animals and subsequently the passion to protect them from threats and extinction.

“Malaysians love the Malayan tiger. It is the first animal they look for when visiting zoos in the country. How can we help them translate this love into action for the conservation of the species as well as of other wildlife?” he said.

Educating visitors

To ensure zoos are able to carry out their role, the first thing that needs to be done is to educate visitors about wildlife.

“I impress upon keeping a smiley and friendly attitude as it will help them warm up to the staff and encourage them to ask questions about the zoo and its animals. This can result in very educational visits,” said Raja Segran.

“Another important step in educating visitors was to allow them to interact with the animals.”

Raja Segran believed this was what distinguished zoos that act as a conservation centre for the protection of wildlife species from those that function merely as animal exhibits.

“Don’t let visitors go to an animal enclosure just to read the information board and then walk away. We need to use the opportunity to inculcate their love for wildlife and allow them to feed the animals or listen to the zookeeper’s experience caring for the animal,” he said.

“At our zoo, we allow visitors the experience of feeding elephants and giraffes as well as to touch and interact with the animals. The zookepers also provide information on the Malayan tiger during feeding time.

“We also have a petting zoo for children where they can feed, play and hold small animals like rabbit. It helps nurture a love for animals from a young age.” 

To realise the goal, Raja Segran said zookeepers also have to be a good storytellers and instil interest in the animals.

It is a profession only to be undertaken by those with deep passion and interest in wildlife conservation.

“That is the kind of mindset our zookeepers need. We are lucky to have such people at our zoo,” he said.

“We have 25 zookeepers who are experts on the animals they are in charge of. We also have another 80 staff.”

The zoo is ours

Raja Segran said a misperception visitors often had was the zoo they visited belonged to a private or government entity.

He believed they should instead see the zoo as their own. It should be regarded as a recreational and educational centre for the community.

“It is important for a zoo to continue expanding, so community support is vital. The community need to band together to contribute to their local zoos. 

“We need to have a sense of ownership towards the zoos within our community and continue to support it to ensure its maintenance and growth,” said Raja Segran.

The Melaka Zoo and Night Safari houses some 600 animals from 150 species across the world.

The Melaka Zoo was built in 1963 under the state government and was privatised in November 2013 under its new name, the Melaka Zoo and Night Safari. – Bernama, February 8, 2018.