Conservationists have confirmed for the first time that Indochinese tigers
(Panthera tigris corbetti) are occupying Thailand's Chaloem Ratanakosin NP. A tigress allowed her photo
[left] to be taken in a camera trap set up by the Zoological Society of London and the Department of National Parks. A few months later a tiger was photographed in the same park. Chaloem Ratanakosin is very small, only 59km², but is part of the Western Forest Conservation Complex that extends 18,000km² and is considered one of the largest forests remaining in Southeast Asia. If the photos represent tigers extending their range in the protected area, it is good news. Tigers have been confined to the northern section of the Complex until this documentation of their presence in the southern section. Experts think that the Complex could support as many as 2,000 tigers. The region also provides habitat to 150 other mammals, 490 birds, 90 reptiles, 40 amphibians and 108 fish species.
Only 200 to 350 tigers of the Indochinese subspecies are estimated to remain in five countries of Southeast Asia. Thailand is thought to contain the vast majority of them despite the country's well-known role in the international illegal wildlife trade. Tigers are on the Red List established by the IUCN as a result of relentless poaching, human conflict, and massive deforestation. A major international conservation effort is underway to save and increase the remaining tiger populations in Asia.
