Mammals

Lord of the Jungle - The Tiger

thailand tiger

The Lord of Thailand's jungles, a wild male Indochinese tiger, Panthera tigris corbetti. Hunted to near extinction throughout the world over the last century,

he is one of perhaps 200 to 300 surviving tigers in Thailand.
He is one of a very small group still surviving in Thailand's Eastern Forest Complex. He hangs on to his existence deep in Thailand's forests against all hope and especially against the ravages of poaching and of habitat loss.

His survival is largely due to the hard work and dedication of the staff of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. So the next time you are a National Park please remember the important work that the Department is doing, follow their rules and guidance, and treat their forest protectorate with the utmost of respect. Then, just maybe, one day, the possibility of sighting of one of these "Lords" may become a reality again.

 

 

Addendum:

 

Forum member Bagheera pointed out a new article on the BBC highlighting the issue of tiger poaching in Thailand, in particular the current use of poisons by poachers. It is a very interesting article and can be read here.... article link. Of particular note is the passage "In the country as a whole, the best estimate is that no more than 200 tigers remain in the wild - a massive decline in the space of a few decades". Whilst previous estimates varied dependent on the source data assimilator, the generally accepted figure over the last decade was 200-400. If the lower number of the previous estimate/s is now a maximum case scenario, then the situation requires our support. The DNP has clarified in its recent and excellent "Wildlife Conservation in Thailand" that it estimates 250 wild tigers survive realisticially, using empirical data as it's base rather than hearsay. To put this into context the DNP has also recorded that 1,417 tigers exist in captivity in Thailand. From that 1,417 tigers, 107 exist in Kanachanaburi's "Tiger Temple" alone. Think about those numbers.

I would implore readers to think about what they can do to be proactive about the survival of the tiger in Thailand's forest complex'. No matter how small that action may be. Be it to donate to the DNP, or NGOs working in Thailand, or International NGOs. Be it to arrange an awareness initiative at your community, workplace or school. Or be it to simply spread the word by openly discussing the tiger's plight with colleagues and friends. Sometimes little things make big things happen. 

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onflipflops's Avatar
onflipflops replied the topic: #839 20 Mar 2013 18:01
Fantastic image! Hope to encounter one in the wild one day, but need to hurry before it's too late.

May I ask if you know of any place where to buy camera traps in Thailand? Would love to do a bit of my own research...
Paul T's Avatar
Paul T replied the topic: #840 21 Mar 2013 08:23
Not in Thailand BUT ebay is your best friend! You can also make them yourself - I would take a look at CameraTrap Asia and BruceKekule.com . Bruce shows how to build them on both sites and goes through the some of the complications you need to take into account. A good read.

If in an NP, of course you will need specific permission from the Park Chief or the DNP to deploy the cams.
onflipflops's Avatar
onflipflops replied the topic: #959 25 Apr 2013 07:20
I have read the posts of Bruce Kekule before, and even though I would love to make it myself, I'm afraid with my limited knowledge of electronics, it won't be a job for me. I did found a cam in my home country, however right now it's waiting at my families place for my next family visit (which could be next year) to pick it up and bring it to Thailand. Can't wait to place it in the jungle... In the meanwhile I did find a webpage of a guy named M. Hakimi in Bangkok dat seems to sell Bushnell trail cams. Maybe I'll try that in the future. But thanks for the tip of Ebay, though I'm a bit scared to sent any valuable things to Thailand. It happened too often that my mail from outbound did not arrive.

BTW What are the consequences if I don't have permission from the park authorities?
Is it easy to get permission? I prefer nobody knows about the location, as I do have some doubts about the integrity of some rangers. Or don't I have to tell the exact location of the cam?
Thanks for your help!

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