The critically endangered Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni), with an estimated population of less than 200 individuals left in isolated rainforest habitats in Malaysia, is in an intermediate population crash leading to extinction in the next decade. The population has decreased significantly by illegal poaching, environmental perturbation, roadkill, and being captured during human–wildlife conflicts. Forty-five or more individuals were extracted from the wild (four animals captured due to conflict, one death due to canine distemper, one roadkilled, and 39 poached) in the 12 years between 2008–2019. The Malayan tigers are the first wildlife species to test positive for COVID-19 and are subject to the Canine Distemper Virus. These anthropogenic disturbances (poaching and human–tiger conflict) and environmental perturbation (decreasing habitat coverage and quality) have long been identified as impending extinction factors. Roadkill and infectious diseases have emerged recently as new confounding factors threatening Malayan tiger extinction in the near future. Peninsular Malaysia has an existing Malayan tiger conservation management plan; however, to enhance the protection and conservation of Malayan tigers from potential extinction, the authority should reassess the existing legislation, regulation, and management plan and realign them to prevent further population decline, and to better enable preparedness and readiness for the ongoing pandemic and future threats.

In this data article we present the determinations of the diet preference and growth of a pair of the giant panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca (David, 1869) from Zoo Negara Malaysia. Once considered as endangered, the captive giant pandas were given with nine species of local bamboo in separate indoor enclosures. We recorded data between May 25, 2014 and December 31, 2016 and analysed it based on food preference, the pattern toward food consumption and body weights using SPSS v25.0 (IBM, USA). Data on the bamboo preference, daily average bamboo provided and consumed, and factors predicting of body weight per individual are reported in this article. The data highlight correlation between panda growth (kg) to the part of bamboo consumed (kg) and exhibit the pattern of preferred part of food (i.e.: either the leaf, culm or shoots of bamboo variety) for panda consumptions. The food consumption toward the body weight was modelled using logistic regression analysis to help determine the pattern of food consumption and body weight of giant panda in the future and based on regression model 1, only consumed variable is significance to the model.