Kanchanaburi’s Srinagarind Dam closed after tiger sighting
The Srinagarind Dam in Kanchanaburi province was shut to tourists on Sunday after a tiger was sighted prowling nearby.
Dam director Charnnarong Chanmongkhol also ordered his officials to evacuate the area until the big cat is either captured or moves on.
The tiger was caught on a CCTV camera at around 2am on Sunday morning.
Erawan subdistrict mayor Kitthisit Thummas published the footage on Facebook on Sunday, warning villagers and tourists not to approach the area.
Officials from Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary in Kanchanaburi said the big cat, thought to be an Indochinese tiger, was seen roaming around the dam wall. The dam wall is connected to an area of forest that will soon be declared as the Si Sawat Wildlife Sanctuary, they added.
Officials contacted Panthera Thailand, an NGO that studies tigers in Kanchanaburi, to help identify and capture the big cat so it can be returned to the safety of its usual habitat.
Over 20 officials scoured the area on Sunday afternoon but failed to locate the tiger, finding only its footprints, which were 20 centimetres in diameter.
There are thought to be no more than 200 tigers left in Thailand. Conservation efforts were hit by the killing of two tigers last January in Kanchanaburi. Poaching is driven mainly by demand from China and Vietnam for tiger parts used in Chinese traditional medicine.
Opened in 1980, Srinagarind Dam stretches 140 metres high and 610 metres long across the River Kwai in Si Sawat District. The hydroelectric dam has capacity to generate 720 megawatts. It also attracts tourists for its scenic lake views, a 30-rai of national park and a giant 32-metre-wide sundial.
