Tiger population increase by 250% in Thailand
Tigers have seen a 250% increase in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM) over a 15-year period between 2007 and 2023. The country’s amazing success in increasing the numbers of the endangered carnivore from around 40 animals to more than 140 is in stark contrast to some of its neighbours. Bali and Java both saw tigers declared extinct in the 20th century while Cambodia, Loas, and Vietnam saw the animals disappear in the mid-2000s.
In other countries, tigers are still under pressure from poaching and the destruction of their habitat. As a result, in Southeast Asia, there are only small populations in Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, and Myanmar.
“We see very strong correlations between better law enforcement and the recovery of tigers,” said Pornkamol Jornburom, Director of WCS Thailand. “Prior to this, illegal hunting and logging were rife in WEFCOM, and tigers were on a path toward extinction. Here, as elsewhere in Asia, good enforcement is the cornerstone of the tiger recovery process.” The organisation implemented anti-poaching measures including patrols as well as insulating tigers and their prey from both poachers and the destruction of their habitat.
Along with these efforts, both the WCS and the Thai government have worked for twenty years to monitor the effects that these schemes are having on the animals. The teams set up cameras in 2004 to capture pictures of them in the wild. Because every tiger has a unique stripe pattern, scientists can identify an individual and track it over time.
As apex predators, tiger populations can be a sign of the overall health of the ecosystem. The team can closely monitor the overall effects that poaching and habitat destruction has on all wildlife as a result.
