Posted on December, 19 2006

Tigers are charismatic representatives of the complex ecosystems in which they live. They require large areas to survive and their conservation should therefore benefit smaller animals within an area as well. As top predators, their existence helps maintain the ecological integrity of an area, for example by limiting the abundance of herbivores.

There are fewer than 400 tigers remaining in Thailand’s forests. The largest and best-studied tiger population is in the Western Forest Complex, in western Thailand. In the extensive forests along the Tenasserim mountain range south of this area, however, the status of tigers and their prey remains unclear.
Kuiburi National Park represents the southern edge of this forested region. In Kuiburi National Park, WWF Thailand is working with Park Superintendent, Chonlathorn Chamnankit, and park rangers to study the distribution and abundance of tigers, other large carnivores (such as leopards), and their prey, as a basis for improved management.

This project, Linking ecological research, local knowledge, and collaborative management to protect large mammals in Thailand, is a collaboration between WWF Thailand and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, and is funded by Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund.

The project is training rangers to implement a low-tech, sign-based (footprints) system to assess the distribution and relative abundance of large carnivores and prey species. Together with WWF biologists, rangers have recently completed two intensive field surveys covering 240 km2 of the park. Researchers found signs from at least 5 tigers, and recorded the presence of 5 other species of large carnivores as well: leopard, clouded leopard, dhole, Asiatic black bear, and sun bear.

“The ecological information emerging from this field work has immediate relevance for large mammal conservation in the park. For example, tigers remain widely distributed within the park, but the status of crucial prey species such as gaur (a species of wild cattle) and sambar (deer) is highly variable. Some locations have healthy populations, while in other places special management might be necessary to revive sparse numbers of animals”, said Robert Steinmetz, Project Leader and Head of WWF Thailand’s Conservation Biology Unit.

The field research is designed to be repeatable by park rangers, who can then track the trends of focal species and assess the effectiveness of their patrolling efforts. Later, research results will be returned to local communities, initiating a collaborative effort to address the complex conservation challenges facing the park.

For more information, please contact: Robert Steinmetz