Thailand’s second roar: How conflict zones became crucibles for recovery
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
This article appeared in the fourth edition of ThisWildEarth. Read more stories like this by exploring all our publications.
Article written by: Andrea Nisbet (ECO). Research and Scientific Contributions: Susie Weller Sheppard (Panthera); Amanda Whalen (Panthera)
Global tiger population context
100 000: Number of tigers a century ago. Fewer than 4 000: numbers by the early 2000s4 500 up from 3 200: The number of tigers according to an IUCN assessment in 2022, a 40% increase between 2015 and 2022.**Experts caution this may reflect better counting rather than true recovery.
The forests of Eastern Thailand’s Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai (DPKY) complex stretch across rolling mountains and valleys, their canopy dappled with sunlight. Once scarred by conflict and the belief that tigers no longer roamed here, this landscape now tells a different story: pawprints pressed into soft earth, camera-trap flashes of striped coats, and GPS collars transmitting signals from a species once thought lost. The contradiction is stark. How could a former conflict zone become one of the last remaining strongholds in mainland Southeast Asia where Indochinese tigers persist?
Two decades ago, scientists and rangers made a discovery few dared imagine: Indochinese tigers were still here. That moment transformed the complex from an overlooked expanse of forest into a critical frontier for tiger conservation. The sense of revelation was palpable, not unlike an explorer stumbling upon a hidden stronghold. Where silence suggested absence, evidence now spoke of survival.
For Indochinese tigers, the picture remains fragile. Once spread across mainland Southeast Asia, their range has shrunk dramatically. Today, Thailand holds the tigers’ last strongholds. Within DPKY, an estimated 20 individuals remain, likely the remnants of populations that once moved between Thailand and Cambodia.
These cats show promising survival and reproduction, but lasting recovery depends on restoring prey populations, reconnecting fragmented habitats, and reducing human pressures. Despite the vast expanse of the forest, tigers remain concentrated in the east of the complex; a reminder that protection here is both fragile and vital. Meeting these challenges requires coordinated, science-driven action.
Protection has become the foundation of survival. Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organisation, has taken up this mantle through its Tigers Forever program. Active across seven tiger-range states, the program’s goal is to increase tiger numbers at key sites by at least 50% within a decade.
In Thailand, in collaboration with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and other partners, Panthera is working to strengthen protection in key tiger habitats. This collaboration supports the DPKY Wildlife Research Station with technical guidance from the Thailand Tiger Project and Khao Nang Rum Wildlife Research Station (DPKYWRS), a DNP-led initiative that originated alongside the department’s 2017 campaign to establish DPKY as Thailand’s second home for tigers.
This collaborative infrastructure has already yielded tangible results. Over the past six months, scientists have fitted GPS collars on three tigers, including two sisters, within the Thap Lan National Park in DPKY. Each collar transmits valuable data on movement, prey use, and survival, thereby strengthening protection efforts. Each signal is a heartbeat of hope for the species’ survival.
A recent study by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, supported by Panthera, suggests that DPKY’s tigers are stable, reproducing, and surviving at encouraging rates. If trends continue, the population could double – an extraordinary prospect in a region where tigers have vanished from nearly every other landscape.
DPKY’s role is now symbolic and strategic. With sustained protection and addressing prey scarcity, the complex could become Thailand’s second tiger stronghold, complementing the Western Forest complex. The Thailand Tiger Project acts as a bridge between rediscovery and recovery, laying the groundwork for future generations of tigers to reclaim their historic range.
The irony that frames DPKY is more than a narrative device. It is the reality of conservation in the 21st century. Forests scarred by conflict and neglect have now become sanctuaries. Here, a tiger population has proven resilient. And Panthera, together with local partners, has shown that persistence and science can bend the arc of decline toward recovery.
The Indochinese tiger remains one of the most endangered big cats on earth, its survival uncertain and its story unfinished. Whether DPKY becomes a footnote or a cornerstone depends on choices made now to secure prey, strengthen patrols, and resist trafficking.
Against all odds, the tigers of Eastern Thailand endure, their stripes threading through the undergrowth. This corner of Thailand now carries the weight of a species’ future, and the promise that dedicated conservation can tip the balance toward survival.
For more information on the global work of Panthera visit https://panthera.org/
ThisWildEarth
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