This Malaysian scientist has been chasing tigers since he was a child

Darmaraj in the field, looking, as ever, for tigers during his WWF-Malaysia days. He currently works with the Wildlife Conservation Society. — Photo WWF-Malaysia

When he was a boy, scientist Dr Mark Rayan Darmaraj used to read books about tigers. In the books, the tigers, he recalls, are often portrayed as the “king of the jungle”.

“This for me – then and even now – means that tigers are the protectors of the forest and all the beings in it,” he says.