#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  > Thailands National Parks >  >  Rare Footage from a Thai Forest

## Mid

*Rare Footage from a Thai Forest*
December 16, 2011

 
_Video camera traps in Thailands Western  Forest Complex show amazing scenes of tigers, elephants, clouded  leopards and other rare wildlife prowling about, alive and well._
©WCS-Thailand

New camera traps are allowing conservationists to take brief video  clips, which are providing a rare glimpse into wildlife behavior. WCS  has released new camera trap footage from the wilds of Thailands Western Forest Complex,  home to elephants, tigers, sun bears, and other rare animals. The  footage reveals intimate scenes of wildlife in action that few people  ever see: A tigress and her cubs feed on a kill, leopards and dholes  stop to investigate scents, and a clouded leopardnormally so heavily  camouflaged that it can hide in plain sightwalks by.

The footage  was taken over the past year from camera traps set up throughout the  Western Forest Complex by WCS working in conjunction with the government  of Thailand. Its a hopeful sign for conservationists, whose efforts to  save the regions wildlife are clearly paying off.

wcs.org

Vid Here : Tigers in the wild captured on hidden cameras - CBS News

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## Mid

See Also from TD Member Bruce Kekule

https://teakdoor.com/thailands-nation...hailand-s.html (The Indochinese Tiger  Part One: Thailands largest cat on the brink of extinction)

https://teakdoor.com/thailands-nation...two-how-i.html (The Indochinese Tiger  Part Two: How I capture tigers on film and digital)

and

https://teakdoor.com/thailands-nation...-thailand.html (cameratrap.asia - Photos and Videos of Wildlife in Thailand)

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## Bettyboo

^ interesting - I suppose the international bodies have to offer more money than the Chinese... even then, our Thai 'friends' will be playing both sides; I don't see much of a chance for the animals...  :Sad:

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## Bruce Kekule

Mid, Thanks for your support.

The *Western Forest Complex* is truly worth saving for the future. However, many dark forces are at work to harm wild animals for money and it has become a tough job to look after these protected areas due to old policies that have never been fixed like the plight of the sometimes 'un-paid rangers' who look after these forests. 

The 'temporary hired ranger' (50% of the DNP workforce) will not be paid from October through the New Year to possibly March, and this happens every year at every park and sanctuary in the Kingdom; without a doubt! I work with these men and know well of this unjust treatment. There is a glitch in the government system where the ranger's money is stuck somewhere and there is no incentive to work amongst the ranks. It sounds like the MMM Syndrome (money making machine) to me where a few control the cash flow and piddle it out.

How are the rangers going to protect the forest and wild animals when they don't get paid. All the 'government big-wigs' have been abroad and have seen how parks in the western world are taken care of but come back home and make no changes to a basic human rights issue like the ranger's pay! 

It erks my butt to see this draconian disregard continue year after year. The day they are all paid like the permanent and government staff is the day I will take my hat off and then I will/can say that a step in the right direction to save Thailand's natural heritage is underway.

Yes their are animals is Huai Kha Khaeng and other protected areas within the Western Forest Complex, but they are truly in serious trouble if things are not up-graded soon. More men, good protection and increased budgets is needed but this will be slow in coming as it has been for ages. 

Finally, making loose statements and releasing wild footage about animal densities in the protected areas sometimes can be a death knell. Three tigers were poisoned in Huai Kha Khaeng in 2010 after researchers and NGOs' went on national TV and stated there were 75 tigers here and 25 next door in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. This is a problem that has also happened in India where tiger populations were wiped out right under researcher's noses! This needs serious scrutiny if the tiger and other creatures will continue to survive into the future!     

A bit long-winded I know, but I needed tho get that off my chest. 

Cheers and thanks again for your support.

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## Bettyboo

^ good post.




> All the 'government big-wigs' have been abroad and have seen how parks in the western world are taken care of but come back home and make no changes to a basic human rights issue like the ranger's pay!


These 'politicians' are nothing more than gangsters playing (and getting paid by) both sides; limiting the flow of monies/wages to the rangers will be something that the 'politicians' financially benefit by; welcome to Thailand...  :Sad: 




> Finally, making loose statements and releasing wild footage about animal densities in the protected areas sometimes can be a death knell.


I thought the same; they're just locating the animals and 'tagging' them for the illegal 'traders' (far too nice a word for these folk)...

The problem is the corruption at the highest levels; the money that these 'politicians' take out of the pot could easily start new sustainable trades for the illegal 'traders', pay the rangers and allow for massive education programs within local and national communities, but they'd rather buy a new Benz instead...  :Sad:

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## Mid

'tis I to be thanking you Bruce ,

your contributions are first class and your opinion carries weight

as to what can be done , I do not know , however bringing the issue to the attention of just one extra person is surely a plus .

Merry Christmas to you and yours Bruce  :Smile:

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## Cujo

> The footage  was taken over the past year from camera traps set up throughout the  Western Forest Complex


Great, now the poachers know where to go.

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## Bruce Kekule

The *WFC* is a huge area that unfortunately has been split up and divided by roads, dam reservoirs and human settlements plus an enormous population explosion. The protected areas in this system are mere islands when you actually come down to it. Some are seriously encroached upon by outsiders, and some are encroached upon from within where people expand out from their respective villages. Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary has some 15 Karen/Hmong settlements in this protected area (divided into West and East) and the villages are bursting at the seems. Where can these people go (only outwards)? 

When Thung Yai was established in 1970s, there were seven households at the village of 'Jae Kae' near the the lead mine close to the border with Burma. When I worked here during the mid-1990s, the village had already expanded to over a 'hundred houses' and the school had almost a thousand kids. Now there are more than 300 households here. Unfortunately as a World Heritage Site, it is probably doomed by the shear number of people. Family planning has failed or was never introduced by the government. And this is just one village. The other villages in the park have expanded likewise and there is no-stopping them.

I recently visited 'Thung Yai West' and saw loads of local people and monks all over the place, coming and going, walking and driving the road. I did not see that much wildlife like in the old days. Traffic is heavy with an 'off-road taxi service' that runs through Thung Yai hauling people in and out. The future looks dim for this place and the rest of the parks and sanctuaries in *WFC*. Only time will tell and I hope and wish protection and enforcement will improve but I'm not holding my breath. All I can say is I was lucky to see Thung Yai when it was still teaming with wild animals. Now, it seems empty. Sad but true facts!

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## Lostandfound

> When Thung Yai was established in 1970s, there were seven households at the village of 'Jae Kae' near the the lead mine close to the border with Burma. When I worked here during the mid-1990s, the village had already expanded to over a 'hundred houses' and the school had almost a thousand kids. Now there are more than 300 households here. Unfortunately as a World Heritage Site, it is probably doomed by the shear number of people. Family planning has failed or was never introduced by the government. And this is just one village. The other villages in the park have expanded likewise and there is no-stopping them.


The locals have nothing better to do than make babies before they themselves, die. Pandering to their "healthcare needs" whilst denying them and their offspring adequate education just accelerates the problem and the decline of any natural environment. 

There really is no hope for them or Thailand's last natural refuges.

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