2015 - A successful Year in Tiger Protection

 

What happened in 2015 in our project region, the border area between Thailand and Myanmar?

No tigers were killed by poachers in 2015! Quite the opposite, review of the 85 cameras now in use in the national parks Mae Wong and Khlong Lan show that the Indochinese tiger population in our project region is slowly recovering! Along with impressive photos seldom occurring animals such as leopards, Bengal cats, Indian civet cats as well as Asiatic elephants one can also see tigresses with their children. Also very promising is an increase in various herbivores such as samba deer, muntjaks and gaur – all very important prey of the tiger.

  

                                              Tigers in the Mae Wong national park (both pictures were taken by camera traps)

Behind this success stands a comprehensive program that on the one hand comes from the tireless efforts of numerous game wardens and the other from an intensive awareness training conducted in schools and villages.

Currently there are almost 80 game underway on patrol around the clock in both national parks. On their patrols, alone in January they destroyed this year on average 57 illegal camps, arrested 12 suspicious persons and seized numerous weapons and poacher equipment.

  

                                                                                             Game wardens in the national parks

An exceedingly important step toward successful implementation of our game wardens was also the construction of the Mae Krasa Ranger Station in the Mae Wong National Park. This ranger station makes it possible for the wardens to venture into the significantly farther and to watch over and protect a significantly larger area. The ranger station is composed of an approximately 800 sq. ft. office building and an additional barracks building. The networking of the ranger station with additional game warden station is conducted via a centralized radio station.  Additionally provisioning of energy is secured by solar cells and a generator.

The construction of the Mae Krong Ranger Station was an important step, in order to fight poaching more effectively. Additionally the station also serves as a base for workshops and training camps for new game wardens.

  

                                   The Mae Krasa ranger station: the office building (left), office and barracks buildings (right)
 
  
                        The solar cells of the ranger station                                                      Game wardens in a training camp
 
Equally important as the control achieved through the deployment of game wardens is also the enhancement of local populaces through knowledge transfer and training. Important events comprising the training campaign include a teacher advanced training of 35 teachers from 17 schools from local communities, a large youth camp and a tiger-protection training for children and youths. This program aims to teach local populaces the importance and function of intact ecosystems as well as the biology and way of life of tigers and their prey. Only with more knowledge and the involvement of local communities can the circumstances be achieved to enable further growth of the threatened Big Cats.
 
   
                                                             Tiger campaigns and tiger protection training in schools
 
We are very happy about this huge success in our project area and that we could thereby support the WWF especially in equipping the game wardens and constructing the ranger station!
 
With these positive images in mind we look forward to the coming year. Experience shows that the fight to protect the Indochinese tiger is far from won. The goal of the "A World for Tigers Foundation" is nevertheless clear: we will focus our involvement on the protection of this wonderfully beautiful and majestic animal and continue our chosen path together with the WWF.
We would like to thank our supporters and all tiger friends with all our hearts –also in the name of the Indochinese tiger! Successes like these are only possible with your help! Thank you! 

 

All pictures were kindly provided by the WWF and its local employees.