KUALA LUMPUR - For two years, Malaysian conservationists tracked a tiger named "Bulan" as she raised four cubs. Then a fatal traffic accident made her another statistic in the country's dwindling population.
Malaysia's national animal is in trouble.
Poaching, food loss and diminishing habitat have slashed the population from 3,000 in the 1950s to less than 150 roaming free today, according to official estimates.
The government said last month it was ramping up efforts to combat wildlife crime, introducing AI-enabled camera traps and methods to detect smuggling at airports.
But experts and officials admit that resources fall far short of what is needed to protect the country's famed big cat, listed as critically endangered.
The fate of the apex predator's population leapt back into local headlines recently after a dead tiger was found in the back of a car in southern Johor state, sparking public outrage.
Three poachers were later handed seven-year jail sentences and a $59,000 fine, but experts say the business remains enticing.
A single Malayan tiger carcass can fetch around $60,000 on the black market, according to Malaysia's Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
"The pelt alone can fetch around RM100,000 ($24,000), while a tiger penis has been valued at RM20,000 ($5,000)," the department's national director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim told the New Straits Times newspaper last month.
Tiger bones go for about $1,186 per kilogram, while teeth, claws, and even whiskers -- used in acupuncture -- fetch around $118 each, Kadir said.
The department did not respond to AFP's request for comment.
Joint operations by Malaysian police and wildlife services have resulted in hundreds of arrests and millions of dollars in seizures, officials said.
And community-based ranger programmes run by NGOs like RIMAU employ more than 1,000 local community members.
"The issue is not a lack of commitment, but a lack of capacity," WWF-Malaysia told AFP.
"The next 10 years will decide whether we can bring back the roar of the Malayan tiger."