The strange thing about the last tigers in Thailand.

Three tigers in a Thai forest population fitted with GPS tracking tags have revealed unusual hunting behaviors, indicating a severe decline in food sources.

A tiger at DPKY-FC, where scientists discovered the species is stable and reproducing at an impressive rate. Photo: DPKYWRS/Panthera Thailand .

Deep within the evergreen forest of the Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai (DPKY-FC) forest complex, a spring trap is set, waiting for the tiger to return to mark its territory.

No one knows exactly when that will happen, it could be a week or two, or longer, so the conservation team has to check the traps three times a day, according to CNN .

But this trap wasn't intended for poaching. It's part of conservationists' efforts to save the last remaining Indochinese tigers.

"Capturing a tiger takes a lot of time and effort," said Rattapan Pattanarangsan, conservation program manager at the non-profit organization Panthera Thailand.

With only 20-30 individuals living in the 6,000 km2 forest, this effort is key to protecting the last remaining members of the species.

Scientists attach GPS collars to tigers. Photo: National Park Service/Panthera.

"The strange prey"

Thailand is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia to have recorded a recovery in its tiger population, but this achievement is mainly due to the western forest areas, where the number of tigers tripled between 2007 and 2023.

Meanwhile, DPKY-FC remained virtually unchanged, despite excellent forest conditions and sufficient space for tigers to expand their territory.

"If the forests are healthy, the tiger population should increase," Pattanarangsan said, adding that many areas have not seen any tiger tracks for more than 10 years.

A sambar deer in Thailand. Photo: CNN/Charlie Miller.

To find the answer, conservationists decided to attach GPS tracking tags to three tigers: an adult male named Srikosa and two young tiger sisters, Chantra and Pianporn.

Camera traps help identify which tigers appear where, but they need more in-depth data on their travel routes and diets.

Based on thousands of coordinates, the team identified the territory, routes, and hunting locations of each individual, thereby discovering the remains of the "strange prey."

Tigers typically hunt large hoofed animals such as banteng, bison, or sambar deer weighing up to 350 kg. But at DPKY-FC, all three tigers primarily ate wild boar and muntjac (a small deer species), weighing only about 10 kg.

This reinforces the findings of research published last year on the shortage of large animals in the region.

"Such behavior is very strange and reflects a scarcity of food," Pattanarangsan said.

Tiger cub, approximately 13-14 months old, at a national park in Thailand, November 2024. Photo: National Park Service/Panthera.

Threats

One of the three individuals, named Chantra, meaning "full moon," because it was fitted with a GPS tracking device on the day of the full moon, stands out for its exceptionally unique taste.

Besides small ungulates, Chantra primarily hunts pig-like creatures. The research team also found traces of it hunting and eating softshell turtles and monitor lizards. This is the first recorded instance of this type of prey for a wild tiger in Thailand.

Chantra is also the smallest of the three. Although she left her mother earlier than her sister, her territory is only 24 square kilometers, half the size of Pianporn's.

"Perhaps it's because it's not picky and can eat anything, so its body is smaller," Pattanarangsan analyzed.

Tigers with larger territories tend to choose larger prey, which in turn leads to larger body sizes.

Chantra also has a curved tail, similar to many large cat breeds. This could be a sign of a genetic problem due to inbreeding, as the population is only 20-30 individuals, resulting in very low genetic diversity.

Tiger cubs play at one of the five conservation areas in DPKY-FC. Photo: National Park Service/Panthera.

While continuing to gather data on tigers' diets, the conservation team at DPKY-FC is intensifying its assessment of other threats.

To the left of DPKY, the Khao Yai National Park area is almost an "empty forest," with no tigers living there anymore.

Over the next few months, the forest will collaborate with a wildlife crime expert to analyze all the associated risks, such as tiger poaching, predator poaching, habitat fragmentation caused by roads like Highway 304, and the new dam construction project.

These risks can make hunting "too easy." If the threats are understood and mitigated, the number of prey animals will increase, and so will the tiger population.

Although the new positioning project is in its early stages, Pattanarangsan believes that preliminary data is crucial for guiding future conservation efforts.

"In the first year, we are learning how to do it. Hopefully, in the future, we will have more funding to study the entire population," the conservationist said.

Source: https://znews.vn/dieu-la-lam-o-nhung-con-ho-cuoi-cung-tai-thai-lan-post1606442.html