Tigers have been spotted in Thailand’s oldest nature reserve for the first time in 30 years. Camera traps have confirmed that at least six rare Indochina tigers are currently roaming the tropical forests of the Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary, the Bangkok Post newspaper reported on Monday.
The group also includes a mother with her two boys, according to Seree Makboon, director of the Khao Namphu Nature and Wildlife Education Center, which is part of the sanctuary established in 1965. The presence of the big cats shows that the reserve’s forest ecosystem is in good shape, Makboon said. The Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary is located near Kanchanaburi west of the capital Bangkok.
The Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) is classified as critically endangered. Thailand is thought to be the center of the subspecies’ remaining range. Poaching, illegal trade and habitat loss are considered the greatest threats to the global tiger population.
