PUTRAJAYA: The Sultan of Perak and members of the royal household joined more than 4,000 runners earlier this morning to support urgent conservation efforts for the critically endangered Malayan tiger.
Sultan Nazrin Shah and the Raja Permaisuri of Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim, attended the Run for Tigers: The Long Run event at Padang Semarak in Taman Wetland.
The royal couple were joined by their children, Raja Azlan Muzaffar Shah and Raja Nazira Safya Shah.
Sultan Nazrin, who is the patron of WWF-Malaysia, flagged off the 10km and 5km events before taking part in a 2.5km fun walk alongside members of the public. Raja Azlan competed in the 10km race.
Organised by WWF-Malaysia and Maybank to mark Global Tiger Day 2026, the run highlighted a decade of collaboration between the two organisations. According to WWF-Malaysia, fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remain in the wild, though ongoing protection initiatives have helped eliminate active poaching snares across key habitats and expanded dedicated patrol ranger teams from 12 to 150 personnel.
Over the past 10 years, the joint initiative has expanded anti-poaching ranger teams from 12 to 150 personnel, deployed over 500 camera traps, and enhanced protection across key forest areas.
Work carried out under the initiative has secured international CA|TS (Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards) accreditation for the 128,272-hectare Royal Belum State Park, one of the world’s oldest rainforests. It is also one of the most ecologically significant tiger landscapes in Southeast Asia, and among the last remaining habitats of the critically endangered Malayan tiger.
Data from WWF-Malaysia highlights substantial progress since 2015, with active poaching snares in Royal Belum falling by more than 90 per cent and zero active snares recorded since 2022.
Camera traps have also captured encouraging signs of population recovery, including a tigress with four cubs recorded in 2022 and another with two cubs in late 2025. Furthermore, national conservation and enforcement frameworks have been strengthened through the establishment of the National Tiger Task Force and the Wildlife Crime Bureau.
As apex predators, tigers maintain forest ecosystem health, which directly supports climate regulation and clean water supplies.
Participants at the event also visited educational stalls, viewed wildlife exhibitions, and took part in an anti-poaching patrol challenge titled “Avoid the Snares”.
