Saturday, March 13, 2010

#124 Malaysia...Thanks Eddie!


This FDC was issued on Feb 23,2010 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Malaysia-Korea diplomatic relations. The stamps show Malayan Tiger and Korean Tiger.

The Malayan tiger (Panthera tigres jacksoni) is found only in Peninsular Malaysia.

The Malayan tiger,along with the Sumatran tiger,is perhaps the smallest extant subspecies of tiger.Its stripe pattern is similar to the Indochinese tiger but its size is closer to the Sumatran tigers,with an average weight of 120 kg for adult males and 100kg for females.Male Malayan tigers measure around 237 cm in length from head to tail and femal Malayan tigers around 200 cm in length.

The Malayan tiger is much found in the lower areas of the rainforest.It preys on sambar deer,barking deer,wild boar and livestock.The population of the Malayan Tiger is decresasing rapidly due to the main threat;that is humans.

The Malayan tiger is a national icon and thus is depicted in the coat of arms of Malaysia,symbolising the government and also appears in various trademarks and logo of various Malaysian institutions as it symbolizes bravery and strength to Malaysians.

Korean Tiger (Panthera tigres altaica) is also known as the Siberian,Amur,Manchurian and North China tiger.It is the biggest of the eight recent tiger subspecies and the largest living felid.Recent research in 2009 revealed that the current Siberian tiger population is almost identical to the Caspian tiger,which is now extinct.

The Korean tiger may be 4m long,including the tail,and weigh 290 kg,much larger than any other tigers.The coat of the Korean tiger is moderately thick,coarse and sparse compared to that of others.The summer coat is coarse,while the winter coat is denser,longer,softer and silkier.

The Korean tigers feed on wild boars and deers.It will also take smaller prey like rabbits and fish.The Korean tiger is mostly confined to low mountains.

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