If you stay at Khao Yai National Park overnight, you’ll know that tents and bungalows come with a complementary alarm clock - screeching Gibbons!

What may be an incomprehensible racket of howling and hooting to sleepy park visitors is actually one of the most complicated animal communications in nature.

Researchers have only recently become aware of how Gibbon calls can function as detailed warnings of danger, not just romantic serenades.

Scientists from as far away as Scotland and Germany have come to Khao Yai to study the musical calls of these tree dwelling apes, discovering that Gibbons switch the order of sounds to alter the meaning of their songs.

Gibbon songs vary so dramatically, their range was compared to that between ‘gangsta rap’ and ’sappy pop’ music by MSNBC journalist Jasmin Aline Persch in her article Low-profile singers of the animal world.

Khao Yai is home to two species of gibbon, the White-handed or Lar gibbon and the rarer Pileated Gibbon. In a small area these two species even hybridize naturally, one of only three such gibbon hybridization zones in the world.

Earlier this month, 300 students attending the Sai Jai Thai Youth Camp spent three days in Khao Yai to learn about the forest, its wildlife, and the importance of nature conservation.

The Sai Jai Thai Youth Camp allows students from the South of Thailand, many from families affected by the 2004 tsunami, to experience a new environment and learn about other parts of the country, including the World Heritage Listed Khao Yai National Park.

Khao Yai and PeunPa staff assisted with fun educational activities, including hiking in the forest; bird watching and wildlife spot lighting; singing folk songs; and hands-on learning with animal bones and paw print casts.

Forbes has named Khao Yai among the Top Spots For Southeast Asian Ecotourism.

Khao Yai was featured in the top ten picks not just for it’s World Heritage listed forests and amazing biodiversity, but also as a place to learn about “regional ecology and conservation efforts.”

The PeunPa Foundation’s community outreach work in villages around the park was noted as a highlight for eco conscious travellers wanting to see and learn about forest conservation in action.

PeunPa is guiding sustainable development projects in several villages that border Khao Yai, to help former poachers become forest protectors.

Every year, park rangers make a pledge to the spirits of Khao Yai at a sacred ceremony in the forest. They promise not to hunt, kill or consume wild animals, and to protect the park from those that would.

Rangers also ask the spirits of Khao Yai to protect them from danger while on patrol. If any ranger was to break their promise to the spirits, it is said they will be cursed with a tragedy within 5-10 days that could also hurt others on the same patrol.

The spirits of Khao Yai are believed to have a connection with a community that settled in Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai and lived in harmony with the forest a long time ago.

The PeunPa Foundation, which also trains Khao Yai’s rangers, is working with the village communities that live around the park today to help them develop a more sustainable relationship with the forest and provide real alternatives to poaching from the park.

On Elephant Day (13/3), Thailand acknowledges the majestic and powerful animal that forms such an integral part of the national identity.

As long as it is protected, Khao Yai National Park is a safe home for many elephants. However, as these visitors to the park found, it’s important to respect wild elephants and allow them space.

The National Elephant Institute is a great place to find more information about the historic importance of elephants in Thailand, as well as current conservation issues. According to the Institute, loss of habitat combined with human pressures could push Thailand’s wild elephants to extinction within 50 years.

At the start of the last century, there were over 100,000 elephants in Thailand. The population is now estimated at just 3,000-4,000. Around half of these are domesticated, with the remainder living wild in national parks like Khao Yai.

Thai conservation groups including PeunPa and Friends of the Asian Elephant are working hard to prevent habitat loss and care for elephants. Please support their efforts.