Tiger cubs at Zoo Negara named Wira, Hebat and Melur

PUTRAJAYA: The three Malayan tiger cubs, two males and one female, born in captivity at Zoo Negara recently, have been named Wira, Hebat and Melur.

The 3-month-old cubs were given their names by Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, who is the patron of the Save Our Malayan Tigers campaign during her first face-to-face encounter with the tigers at the national zoo recently.

Dr Siti Hasmah, who is also the wife of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said it was her lifelong dream to see a tiger up close, which was made possible thanks to Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar .

“For a long time, I have wanted to come face-to-face with a Malayan tiger, but never got a chance until recently, before I left for Ankara.

“Tigers are so beautiful and are majestic animals. And, when I was told about the three new cubs born in Zoo Negara, I had to go and see them.

“I have been asking Dr Xavier to bring me to see a tiger, so that I can pet it, cuddle and whisper in its ears, just like what I did with wild horses when I was in Argentina.

“But, when he took me to see the cubs, that’s when I realised that they were three feet tall and that I cannot carry or cuddle them,” she said at the Global Tiger Day 2019 celebration, here.

“They were so adorable, but whenever I tried to inch closer to the cubs, the female cub, especially, would start roaring at me,” she said.

She said the cubs were not like the wild horses, because they actually listened when she whispered and stroked them.

Speaking on the campaign to save the Malayan tiger, Dr Siti Hasmah said everyone must work together as a nation to ensure that the next generation was able to see the animal in all its majesty, not just via pictures.

“We must not forget that the Malayan tiger is a symbol of our nation’s Jata Negara (coat of arms). We cannot let it go extinct.”

She said, in the 1950s, there were an estimated 3,000 Malayan tigers in the wild, but the population had since dwindled to a mere 200.

“This is a very critical state which needs immediate revival initiatives, not only from the government, ministry, Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) and NGOs, but from all parties, including the public.

“We must all play our part in ensuring that tiger conservation efforts produce or breed at least 500 Malayan tigers which can be released into the wild by next year end,” she said.

Efforts undertaken by the authorities include a cooperation pack signed between Perhilitan and police to conduct Op Belang joint operations in poacher-heavy areas, as well as setting up a National Tiger Conservation Centre to reintroduce tigers bred in captivity into the wild.

The centre in Lanchang, Pahang, is expected to be ready by the end of the year.

The Save Our Malayan Tiger campaign has collected RM1.34 million in donations.

The Albukhary Foundation, the biggest contributor, has given RM1 million to the campaign.