KAMPHAENG PHET, Thailand: In the thick, steamy forests of western Thailand, 20 skittish sambar deer dart from an enclosure into the undergrowth — unaware they may find themselves in the jaws of one of the habitat’s 200 or so endangered tigers.
The release is part of a project run by the government and conservation group WWF to provide tigers with prey to hunt and eat, which has helped the big cat make a remarkable recovery in Thailand.
The wild tiger population in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex, near the border with Myanmar, has increased almost fivefold in the last 15 years from about 40 in 2007 to between 179 and 223 last year, according to the kingdom’s Department of National Parks (DNP).
