70In September 2014, Singapore’s
Cicada Eco-Tree Place organised
a fundraising dinner to partially
subsidise the costs for 50 Singaporean
CAT volunteers who were encouraged
to pay it forward by participating in
future CAT Walks at their own cost,
to sustain critical capacity for citizen
conservation efforts.
“It appears that the presence of
citizen conservationists has reduced
poaching activity as we are now
seeing more wildlife signs in the
corridor. If one day we find tiger
pugmarks (footprints) in the corridor,
it will be a dream come true,” said
Suzalinur Manja Bin Bidin, the CAT
Programme Manager.MYCAT and CAT
MYCAT is an alliance of four leading
nature conservation NGOs in Peninsular
Malaysia working to save Malaysia’s
tigers, namely the Malaysian Nature
Society (MNS), TRAFFIC Southeast Asia,
Wildlife Conservation Society-Malaysia
Programme, and WWF-Malaysia.
http://www.malayantiger.net
CAT is the first programme in
Malaysia that enables the public to get
involved in tiger conservation, and is
supported by the Department of Wildlife
and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia.
CAT Walks (anti-poaching wilderness
watches) bring small groups trekking or
camping in the rainforests of the Sungai
Yu Wildlife Corridor, the sole link between
Malaysia’s two largest forested areas.
Together, they form the world’s fifth-
largest tiger landscape (35,000 square
kilometres).
http://www.citizenactionfortigers.myProtecting Malaysia’s wildlife on the
ground are brave rangers, who tirelessly
and thanklessly risk their lives, and CAT
provides citizens from
all walks of life to help them.
In March 2015, MYCAT won a vote-
based grant from the European Outdoor
Conservation Association of €30,000
(US$32,300) to expand the programme,
bringing more watchful eyes to the
Sungai Yu Wildlife Corridor in Pahang,
which links Taman Negara to the Main
Range, together forming the world’s
fifth-largest tiger landscape.aboveMalayan tiger cubs:
Perhaps there is still hope“It appears that the presence of citizen conservationists
has reduced poaching activity as we are now seeing more
wildlife signs in the corridor...”
PHOTO ZSSD/MINDEN PICTURES/CORBIS