CHUMPHON – Three tigers, who could be called “dual nationalities,” were discovered foraging on the border between Thailand and Myanmar.
Wildlife sanctuary officials in Chumphon Royal Navy Department Park (Lower Northern Section), Chumphon Province, found that tiger habitats in the areas of Duang Charoen Forest, Neon Thong Forest and Chong Khamiew Forest, Village No. 4 and Village No. 7, Song Phi Nong Subdistrict, Tha Sae District, Chumphon Province, extend into Myanmar.
Atthaphon Charoenchansa, director general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, said the discovery was made in collaboration with the Freeland Foundation.
They have been studying the distribution of tigers in the Tenasserim Mountains area on both sides, namely the Thai side and the Myanmar side, in the Lunja National Park area. They could therefore be tigers with dual nationality.
This discovery was made on the Thai side. A total of 24 cameras set up in the area showed three tigers.
From now on, the Wildlife Conservation Office will investigate how long these tigers have been roaming between the two countries and whether they are included in the previously studied Thai tiger population to gather more up-to-date information.
Earlier, on January 12, Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi Province announced the finding of a new tiger in the Phetchaburi watershed forest through a camera trap wildlife study conducted between January 8 and 11, 2024. It is a young tiger whose gender is unknown, with the identifying code KKT-004.
Based on the wild tiger population assessment using specialized assessment techniques and pattern recognition through automatic camera traps set up at 1,200 sites in 28 protected areas in 2022, 148-189 tigers were found, an increase from the 2020 statistics where 130-160 tigers were found. Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary – Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary has the densest population with 103-131 tigers.
The Thai government has adopted the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan 2022-2034 with the aim of raising the standard of protection for key tiger habitats, including the Western Forest Complex and Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, and accelerating the recovery of tiger populations and prey in target habitats, including Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Phu Khieo-Nam Nao Forest Complex and Khlong Saeng-Khao Sok Forest Complex.
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