Thailand tiger numbers start to bounce back
The depleted tiger population in Thailand has started to rebound, after more than a decade of surveillance to curb poaching, at a conservation park in the western province of Uthai Thani, the Wildlife Conservation Society says.
In 2012, researchers documented about 50 tigers in Hua Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, a number that has grown to 90, proving the success of ongoing patrols to stop poaching, the NGO said on Thursday.
“The protection effort is paying off as the years have progressed, as indicated by the increase in population, and we expect the number of tigers to increase even more rapidly in the years to come,” said Somphot Duangchantrasiri, the Hua Kha Khaeng wildlife research station chief who spearheaded an eight-year study of the big cat population in the park.
Camera trap surveys were done over 1026sq m of the park to keep tabs on the tigers, while statistical models determined the density and survival rates of the felines.
The most imminent threat to the slowly growing tiger numbers comes from poaching, with the parts of more than 1400 tigers seized by police since 2010, according to wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC.
In 2013, two Hua Kha Khaeng rangers died and two were critically injured when a gunfight with poachers broke out during a park patrol, according to Anak Pattanavibool, the country director for WCS Thailand, as quoted by online magazine Policy Innovations.
The World Wildlife Fund has estimated only 3200 of the felines were left in the world due to poaching and habitat loss.
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