Community | May 17, 2011 | 12 comments

Thailand jungles mask surprise rise in tiger numbers

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/17/thailand-jungles-rising-hopes-tiger

Image
figgdimension
Deep in the jungle, armed forest rangers trek through the palms on a mission to confirm some rare good news: the discovery of a wild tiger population in an area of Thap Lan national park previously written off by wildlife experts.

Working with foreign conservationists, the rangers have been gathering evidence from camera traps over the past two years that suggests this single national park in Thailand may have more tigers than China.

Thap Lan, with its spectacular forests of saw-bladed plan palms, is an oasis of biodiversity amid expanding human development. Elephants, clouded leopards, spotted linsang, boar and deer thrive below the canopy, which is filled with the song of myna, lapwings, laughing thrushes and other exotic birds.

Locals have long insisted that tigers also prowl in this area. Camera traps, triggered by heat and movement, have been left strapped to trees for a month. Some have been destroyed by wild elephants or infested by nesting ants, but the memory cards inside have yielded a treasure trove of images of bears, leopards, itinerant monks, as well as tigers and – worryingly – armed poachers.

More than half the park has still to be checked, but rangers have already confirmed eight tigers. This is not yet enough to be classified as a sustainable population, but park managers are optimistic more animals will be found. "I'm very happy as this is beyond expectations," said Thap Lan's superintendent, Taywin Meesap. "There are areas deeper inside where we haven't placed camera traps yet. Given the results so far, there could be 20 to 50 tigers here."
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   Green,   Earth and Science,   9 more
  2. tags:
    Conservation,  Thailand,  endangered species,  Tigers,  1 more
  3.     
    |

12 comments // Thailand jungles mask surprise rise in tiger numbers

more from Community:
from the community

top videos