A park ranger in Thailand was found dead after being allegedly attacked and killed by a tiger.
The body of 48-year-old ranger Sakarin Wichajan was found on Wednesday (5 Aug) in Thap Salao Creek, around 200m from his sleeping quarters inside Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Uthai Thani province.
The incident has sparked a search operation.
According to reports, Mr Sakarin was scheduled to join a youth camp activity that morning but failed to arrive at the meeting point.
A colleague later checked his sleeping area and found only his phone and personal belongings left behind.
He also discovered drag marks and parts of what appeared to be human remains near Mr Sakarin’s tent net.
Source: ThaiPBS
Officers subsequently launched a search operation and found Mr Sakarin’s body near a stream with severe bite injuries.
After finding fresh tiger tracks nearby, officials believed an Indochinese tiger was involved.
Source: ศูนย์ข่าวภูเขียวเพื่อคนชัยภูมิ on Facebook
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has not identified the specific tiger responsible.
Investigations are ongoing to confirm the cause of the animal’s behaviour.
DNP director-general Atthapol Charoenshunsa said the incident was highly unusual, as tigers generally avoid humans, according to the Bangkok Post citing Matichon.
Source: garten-gg from Pixabay on Canva, for illustration purposes only.
“As far as I can recall, this is only the second time in 28 years that a tiger has attacked a person in this manner,” he told Matichon Online.
The previous known case occurred in Khao Yai National Park on 13 Jan 1998, when a female tiger attacked a park worker’s arm while the person was washing clothes near staff housing.
The worker survived after a colleague fired a warning shot, causing the tiger to flee.
Mr Atthapol said the recent attack does not reflect normal tiger behaviour. He suggested the animal may have approached because Mr Sakarin was lying still and appeared vulnerable.
Source: ศูนย์ข่าวภูเขียวเพื่อคนชัยภูมิ on Facebook
He also dismissed speculation that the tiger attacked due to a lack of food, saying Huai Kha Khaeng’s forest complex still has sufficient prey.
Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary has temporarily suspended tourism activities while officials search for the tiger, reports ThaiPBS.
Researchers at the Khao Nang Kha Rang Wildlife Research Station are reviewing camera trap footage and monitoring tiger movements in the area to identify the animal.
Source: Google Maps
Authorities said locating the tiger is important to prevent it from becoming accustomed to attacking humans.
“If the animal is not located, there is concern it could repeat the behaviour and pose a danger to officials and the public,” Mr Atthapol said.
On 16 Aug, it was reported that the tiger involved in the attack was identified using camera trap data collected near the location where his body was found.
The identification relied on known tiger behaviour, as the animals typically return to previous kill sites.
The tiger research team convened on-site to complete planning and response strategies.
Officials confirmed that they had isolated the specific animal responsible for the attack, identifying it as a young tiger just over a year old, as reported by the Daily News.
Huai Kha Khaeng is home to an estimated 100 to 120 tigers, according to officials.
Also read: Suspected tiger attack in Indonesia leaves 1 dead, hunt for big cat ongoing
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Featured image adapted from ThaiPBS and ศูนย์ข่าวภูเขียวเพื่อคนชัยภูมิ on Facebook.