Protect the Malayan tiger at all cost

Two adult tigers caught interacting by a camera trap in the Belum-Temenggor Forest Complex.－ CHRISTOPHER WONG/WWF-Malaysia

The recent news of the death of Awang Rasau is a harsh wakeup call that we must address the scourge of poachers with greater resolve ("Awang Rasau, the tiger shot by poachers, dies", The Star, March 5). Otherwise, we will soon see the end of another critically endangered species.

Awang Rasau, the male Malayan tiger caught in Terengganu, had been shot by poachers with eight bullets that left his hind legs paralysed. His condition would have left him unable to hunt his natural prey and with little choice but to prey on livestock to survive. Thanks to the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan), he was rescued and given much-needed care in his final few days, but sadly died from complications as a result of his injuries on March 5. He had suffered enough.