Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in Uthai Thani province has suspended tourism activities after a tiger fatally attacked a wildlife ranger yesterday.
Operations have been launched to identify the animal through DNA testing and determine why it attacked a human, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Director-General Attapol Charoenchansa said today.
He said officials are trying to capture the tiger, believed to be one of no more than five living in the area, to collect DNA samples for comparison with hair and other biological evidence recovered from the attack site.
He stressed that the operation is not a tiger hunt, but a scientific investigation aimed at accurately identifying the animal responsible.
"Tigers naturally avoid humans and attacks of this kind are rare," Attapol said. "It is essential to identify the tiger involved because, if it becomes accustomed to attacking people, it could pose a continued threat to park staff and the public."
This attack is only the second recorded tiger attack on a person in Thailand in nearly 30 years, Attapol said. The previous incident occurred in 1998 in Khao Yai National Park, where a park employee was injured by a tiger but survived.
Other measures introduced include strengthening surveillance, warning staff to avoid high-risk areas and increasing patrols around offices, ranger stations and work sites.
Additional lighting has also been installed in vulnerable locations to improve safety, Attapol said.
An initial investigation by the department's ‘Thailand Tiger Project’ shows that the attack occurred at an open-air shelter used by rangers for resting. The area has long been known as a regular travel route for tigers.
Following the attack, investigators found tiger hair near where the ranger had been sleeping and a bloodstained mosquito net about 15 metres from the shelter.
They found no bloodstains in the sleeping area itself, though, or along the route where the tiger is believed to have dragged the victim's body.
The researchers said years of monitoring have shown that wild tigers normally avoid people who are awake or moving, making the incident highly unusual.
They said it is too early to determine why the tiger attacked and that conclusions will depend on the results of the post-mortem examination and forensic analysis of evidence collected at the scene.
The researchers also stressed that the attack should not be interpreted as normal tiger behaviour or as evidence that tigers hunt humans as prey.
