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The Malaysian tropical jungle is one of the most cat-rich areas on the planet. It is most famous for its tiger population, but eight other species of wild cats also roam, such as the clouded leopard, bay cat, and smooth-headed cat.
These falcons have gone under the radar as conservation efforts focus on supporting the Malayan tiger – of which fewer than 150 remain. But a series of photographs curated by conservation organization Panthera aims to give the tiny species their moment right now.
Over time, Panthera has collected a number of images of the various species, captured by camera traps and photographers, which they hope will increase the public’s awareness of the less celebrated cats that they will associate with them.
These wild cats are elusive and, unlike the tiger, not studied. According to the IUCN Red List, the global inventory of threatened species, there are few records or population estimates available for the Borneo cat, marble cat and flat cat. Despite this, almost all cat species in Malaysia are classified as endangered, vulnerable or near threatened, due to habitat loss, poaching and climate change.
Roshan Guharajan, project coordinator for Panthera Malaysia, points to the Malaysian region of the island of Borneo, which is home to five species of wild cats. He has worked in the area for over eight years, but in that time he has only seen the bay cat and the bald-headed cat once in real life. Both moments were fleeting, he says.
He says that cats with bald heads are the most understandable. About the size of a house cat, they thrive in swampy wetland areas, which are more difficult for humans to access. “At first we struggled to systematically monitor the species,” he says, but recently, his team has had more success targeting the edges of muddy swamps and lakes with camera traps.
By monitoring the various species, Panthera hopes to gather information on population sizes, range estimates and the threats they face.
It is also working with communities to improve land and forest management. Historically, palm oil and industrial plantations have been a major threat. According to research published in 2018, Borneo’s forest cover declined by 14% in the period between 2000 and 2017, mainly due to forest being cleared for oil palm trees. He notes that forest loss peaked in 2016 before declining sharply in 2017. According to Global Forest Watch, forest cover across Malaysia has remained stable as of 2020.
However, forest clearance to make way for tree plantations is a constant threat, says Guharajan, leading to fragmentation of wildcat habitat. He hopes that his involvement in sustainable farming and conservation could help preserve the remaining habitat.
Sharing the devastation
Although most of the conservation efforts in the region are based on the Malayan tiger, this is not a bad thing, says Guharajan, noting that the species is particularly targeted by poaching. Tiger body parts have a high market value: their bones are used for traditional medicines, their meat is consumed, their skins are turned into rugs and teeth are made into jewelry.
Because of these threats and declining tiger populations, “significant investments have been made in forest management and anti-poaching,” says Guharajan. “By default, all these different species have a lot of advantages.”
He explains that although some of the smaller cat species are not directly targeted by poaching, there are cases when they are caught in a trap intended for other animals or when poachers shoot them in a timely manner. The wider anti-poaching efforts are helping to prevent this, and conservationists across south-east Asia are reporting positive results from their crime prevention measures.
Having a big, energetic cat like the Malayan tiger in the region helps bring in financial resources, Guharajan says, and he hopes awareness of the other wild cats will do the same. The photos help create a “level of connection” between the cats and the community, he says. However, Guharajan ultimately believes that conservation work should not be focused solely on one species. “We have to look at the spectrum: habitats, communities, cultures, climate as well. All of them can be used to conserve habitats and species,” he says.
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