Tigers are found throughout much of Peninsular Malaysia (except for islands and small states such as Perlis, Penang, Malacca and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya).

Tigers are habitat generalists, meaning that they can live in a variety of habitat types; from peat swamp to small woodlands inside plantations to lower montane forest. In Malaysia, tigers are even found at the Gunung Bintang Hijau at 1730m in Perak. However, they prefer lowland forest.

Based on the information collected between 1991 and 2003, about half of Peninsular Malaysia is considered a suitable tiger habitat. The four main tiger states are Pahang, Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu and these support nearly 90% of the tiger habitat in the country.

Accurately estimating the number of tigers left in Malaysian forests is almost impossible; tigers are very secretive and rarely seen.

Based on the knowledge of average numbers of tigers that can be supported by tropical forests, the tiger’s energy needs, and the preceding tiger distribution map, a potential population size of the Malayan tiger ranges from 500 to 1500 tigers.

Generally the lower bound of 500 is cited as a current population figure as it corresponds with the official figure used since 1990. In reality however, it is difficult to know.

During the 1970s, attitudes changed and the fortune of the tiger in Malaysia took a turn for the better with its listing as a “totally protected species” under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1972.

This law made it illegal to kill or possess body parts of a tiger. Many of the tiger’s prey species such as the sambar deer, barking deer and wild pig are also listed on the same law as “protected species”, meaning that hunting is only allowed with a license.

Worldwide, the tiger is considered as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. Trade of threatened wildlife across national boundaries is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 

Malaysia is a signatory to CITES which lists the tiger as an Appendix 1 species, meaning that all international commercial trade in live tigers and parts and products made from tigers is strictly prohibited.

However, this protected status has only slowed down rather than reversed the decline in tiger numbers.

Within Malaysia, tigers are found only on the peninsula, which has around 45% of its forest cover remaining. Between 1991 and 2003, tigers were confirmed to be present in 30% of the land area which can be divided into three main forest landscapes. These forest landscapes form the basis of spatial planning for Malaysia’s tiger conservation.