Khao Yai Experiences
Stories from Thailand’s World Heritage ParkArchive for Working with Wildlife
Smaller wild cats under the microscope
The Zoological Park Organisation, Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Forestry and IUCN have announced a new survey of the smaller species of wild cats will be carried out across four major forests in Thailand, including Khao Yai.
Thailand’s forests are home to nine species of wild cats, including the Asian golden cat, the fishing cat, the flat-headed cat, the jungle cat, the marbled cat, the leopard cat, the clouded leopard, the leopard, and the tiger. In the past, less attention has been given to the study and conservation of the smaller members of this family.
Poaching of wild cats has also been described as “rampant” in Thailand and neighboring countries, and conservationists are particularly worried about the number of fishing cats remaining in the wild.
The new initiative was announced during a mini-summit of the world’s leading wild cat experts held in Bangkok late last month, and attended by FREELAND staff.
Other forests to be included in the study are Huai Kha Khaeng, Khao Ang Rue Nai and Phu Khiew.
‘Til death do they part: Hornbill nesting mates
Great Hornbills are a common sight in Khao Yai, thanks to the protection afforded by the national park. Lucky visitors may even catch a glimpse of the birds nesting high in the trees.
Female hornbills will usually nest in tree hollows like this one, blocking up the entrance with bark, dirt and droppings, leaving only a small opening for her mate to deliver food.
Normally, she will incubate her eggs for around 40 days and stay with her chicks until they are semi-developed. The total rearing cycle usually takes 120 days.
Biologists are concerned that climate change may be affecting the breeding cycles of Khao Yai’s Great Hornbills. Their research suggests the total duration of chick rearing has recently increased by 20 days, to a total of 140 days.
Increasing temperatures aren’t the only threat to Khao Yai’s Great Hornbills. Demand from the exotic pet trade makes hornbills a target of poachers and wildlife traffickers. Their unique beaks are also highly sought after.
Great Hornbill Skull and Beak
If a male is captured or killed during the nesting period, the female won’t abandon her young, even if it means starving to death.
Protecting hornbill families from poachers and ensuring intact and healthy forest for them to forage and nest in is crucial to the survival of this colourful species.
According to the IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species, the Great Hornbill is “declining moderately rapidly throughout its range” and is now “generally scarce” in Thailand.
Tracking nocturnal activity in Khao Yai
It takes a keen eye to spot some of Khao Yai’s more reclusive animals, many only come out to hunt and forage at night. Setting camera traps and identifying tracks is the only way to ever know they were there.
Kanda Damrongchainarong uses these techniques to monitor the health of animal populations in Khao Yai. FREELAND’s Conservation Project Field Coordinator, Kanda has been monitoring wildlife in the park for 4 years and speaks passionately about the animals she works to protect.
This Sun Bear, identified by the pale patch of fur on its chest, was captured on film in the early morning using a camera trap. Photographers would be unlikely to get this close to any of Khao Yai’s wild animals.
Usually set along identified animal thoroughfares in the forest; camera traps use an infra-red sensor to detect movement, triggering a flash camera. Despite being enclosed inside a protective case, they can be damaged by bad weather, inquisitive ants and larger animals, such as bears and elephants.
Kanda says that cameras recovered intact often tell interesting stories over several nights in the forest, recording the nocturnal movements of animals and poachers alike.
Croc surfaces in Khao Yai river
Kanda freezes on the trail a few steps ahead, making a hand motion to stay quiet. She’s seen something on the opposite river bank that no one else noticed.
Her voice is a whisper as she points across the water. Suddenly, we notice movement; a crocodile shifts its head to keep an eye on us, its open mouth sending a warning.
Nature watchers Steve and Tanja uploaded this video footage of the freshwater crocodile that has made its home in this Khao Yai stream, in close proximity to the walking track.
FREELAND’s Carnivore Conservation Project Field Coordinator, Kanda Damrongchainarong, explains that there is no active breeding population of crocodiles native to Khao Yai, so individuals like this one must have made their way into the park from other areas.
Still, the appearance of this croc is a good sign for Khao Yai’s river systems. Like tigers, these large carnivores are positive indicators of a healthy ecosystem supporting enough prey for them to hunt.
Wah Wah Hoo! Intelligent calls of Khao Yai’s Gibbons
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 calls echo through the Khao Yai forest
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.
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Khao Yai Sustainable Visitor's Guide (PDF 275kb)