Camera trap videos capture stunning wildlife in Thailand

The Endangered peafowl on camera trap. Photo by: DNP-Government of Thailand/WCS Thailand Program.

A year’s worth of camera trap videos (see photos and video below) are proving that scaled-up anti-poaching efforts in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex are working. Capturing rare glimpses of endangered, elusive animals—from clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) to banteng (Bos javanicus), a rarely seen wild cattle—the videos highlight the conservation importance of the Western Forest Complex, which includes 17 protected areas in Thailand and Myanmar.

“The video represents a huge payoff for the government of Thailand, which has invested considerable resources in protecting wildlife and preventing illegal hunters from plundering the country’s natural heritage,” said Joe Walston, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Asia Program, which is heading the video camera trapping effort.

WCS says that the videos help prove that Indochinese tigers (Panthera tigris corbetti) and prey populations in the region have stabilized. Estimations of tigers in the area range from 125 to 175 individuals, while the area also sustains one of the largest Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) populations in Southeast Asia.

According to WCS, which works with the Thai government, the country has one of the best anti-poaching records in Asia.

Shown in the video:

Indochinese tigers (Panthera tigris corbetti), Endangered according to the IUCN Red List

Leopard (Panthera pardus), Near Threatened

Green peafowl (Pavo muticus), Endangered

Sun bear (Ursus malayanus), Vulnerable

Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Endangered

Gaur (Bos gaurus), Vulnerable

Dhole (Cuon alpinus), Endangered

Clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Vulnerable

Banteng (Bos javanicus), Endangered

Wild pig (Sus scrofa), Least Concern

Common muntjac ? (Muntiacus muntjak), Least Concern

Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), Endangered

A Malayan tapir, listed as Endangered. Photo by: DNP-Government of Thailand/WCS Thailand Program.

A herd of Asian elephants caught on camera trap. Photo by: DNP-Government of Thailand/WCS Thailand Program.

A tigress drinks with her cubs from a watering hole inside Thailand’s Western Forest Complex.. Photo by: Photo by: DNP-Government of Thailand/WCS Thailand Program.

An anti-poaching team on patrol. Photo by: DNP-Government of Thailand/WCS Thailand Program.

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