A tigress and two cubs were recently photographed in Tak's Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, the latest sign of progress in Thailand's efforts to preserve the threatened species, especially in the Western Forest Complex.
Porayut Waiwong, director of the Protected Area Regional Office 14 in Tak province, said on Tuesday the rare sighting was caught by an automatic camera trap.
The tigress, codenamed F22, and two cubs aged 4-6 months were filmed on the night of Feb 15-16, together and apparently in good health.
Sanctuary chief Piya Pinyo said camera traps were first installed in the area in 2022, with support from the World Wildlife Fund.
That year, F22 was caught on camera for the first time, sparking hope that cubs were in the future.
Last December, rangers found tiger prints, both large and small, in the sanctuary's border area near Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. They were believed to belong to F22 and her cubs.
The discovery led to more camera traps being installed in Umphang Wildlife Sanctuary, Mr Piya said. On the night of Feb 15-16, F22 was photographed with two cubs.
He said the same cameras also showed a leopard inspecting its hunting ground, hyenas, wild boar rooting for food, wild deer and a barking deer.
Mr Porayut said tigers, which were threatened with extinction, were showing signs of repopulation. They were at the top of the food chain and could thrive only in areas where there was plentiful wild game.
