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Aquarium
Butterfly
GRC |
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How to get here
The rehabilitation site is in Khao Pha Theaw Non-Hunting Area
at the
Bang Pae Waterfall,
Phuket, Thailand. It is about 9 km. east from the Heroines Monument.
You can visit our center and see some of the gibbons from the
viewing platform. The Center opens daily 9am to 4pm. We do not
charge an entrance fee. If you’d like to visit in a big group,
please contact our office. We are around 20km away from
Phuket International airport,
from here you should follow signs to the Heroines monument and
turn left onto road 4027. Follow this road until you see the
sign for
Bang Pae waterfall,
where you turn left and drive for 1km to the entrance of the
park. You will have to pay an entrance fee to the
National Park,
Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department. Once inside the
park a car park is provided and you can walk from here to our
center.
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History
The
Gibbon Rehabilitation Project (GRP) was set up in 1992 by Mr.
Noppadol Preuksawan, the chief of the Royal Forest Department
in Phuket at that time, Mr. Thavorn Sri-Oon, Bang pae Substation
chief, the Asian Wildlife Fund and an American Zoologist called
Terrance Dillon Morin. In 1994 The Wild Animal Rescue Foundation
of Thailand (WAR) started to support the project, we are now
a research division of WAR.
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Objective
1. Develop a method to successfully rehabilitate white-handed
gibbons back into their natural habitat:
The GRP
has been testing methods of reintroduction for the past 10 years.
Every reintroduction is a learning opportunity. Reintroductions
remain a relatively new division of the conservation movement
as well as uncharted terrain for research.
2.
End the demand for the illegal use of gibbons as tourist attractions
and as pets: Through
the education of visitors at our Centre for Conservation, Education
and Fund-Raising, the GRP hopes to create awareness of the plight
of the captive gibbon and to the role that tourism plays in
the demand for baby gibbons.
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(2) |
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(1). Data collection and follow up in the forest (2). Terrance
Dillon Morin |
3. To repopulate the last remaining rainforest
in Phuket – Khao Phra Thaew Non-hunting Area (National Park,
Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department).The gibbons were
poached to extinction in Phuket over 25 years ago. The
GRP hopes to repopulate this forest through the rehabilitation
of gibbons that were previously being held in captivity.
The GRP has successfully reintroduced group in October of 2002,
a second family in August 2003, a third group was reintroduced
at the end of 2004 and many more in the near future.
4. To create awareness of the importance of conservation of
the environment: The GRP is also an effective resource for teaching
the local community about the importance of conservation.
The GRP runs education programs to enable local villagers and
children to see the forest and its animals as an essential life
supporting source.
5. Provide the opportunity for volunteers
to study the white-handed gibbon: Volunteers come from all over
the world to study the white-handed gibbon. The gibbons
at the GRP allow for the many forms of research, such as reintroduction
methods, behavioral research of both captive and released gibbons,
and research into diseases of gibbons in captivity
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Letter of support for GRP
The local council is very
supportive of the project and the work that we do. They are
especially helpful in including our details in their tourist
publications. They also send visitors, film companies etc to
the project. Our Centre for conservation, Education and Fundraising
along with our main rehabilitation site and obviously the release
areas are within Khao Phra Theaw non-hunting area, National
Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.
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WAR is a fully licensed
charity under Thai law - License NO. GT 20
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The vice governor of Phuket, Mr
Niran Kanlayanamit, came to the project in November 2001
and witnessed the first release of gibbons into Khao Phra Thaew. |
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Why release
is important ?
1. Wild animals are protected
in Thailand under the “1992 Wild Animal Reservation and
Protection Act” It has been illegal to take a gibbon from the
wild or possess a gibbon in Thailand since 1992, except if the
gibbons were bred in captivity, in which case the owner is required
to have a license from the Director General of Royal Forest
Department. Anyone in violation of this shall be punished with
imprisonment not exceeding four years or fined not exceeding
forty thousand baht,
or both. In 1992, owners were afraid of this law
and gave their gibbons to the Royal Forest Department. The Gibbon
Rehabilitation Project was established by Khun Noppadol Preuksawan,
the chief of the Royal Forest Department in Phuket, to
support gibbons which were unwanted after the law was established.
2. Khao Pha Theaw Non-Hunting
Area is located in Thalang district, Phuket. It was full
of many animals, including gibbons. Twenty five years ago the
entire population of gibbons was poached to extinction and the
forest became silent. The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project would
like to revive the wild population again in this forest. Our
work is try to reintroduce the captive gibbons back into this
area because gibbons are important for the ecology of
the rainforest as flora dispersers.
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Khao Phra Theaw (KPT) Non-hunting Area - National Park,
Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department
The
Khao Phra Thaew (KPT) area is relatively small ( 2,333 ha) and
completely surrounded by villages, roads and plantations .
Therefore, not all the species of peninsular fauna are represented
and those that remain in this forest are not easily observed.
Their natural behaviour is to hide in the most dense vegetation
and their learned fear of man make them even more elusive Walkers
on the forest trails may well hear the sounds of animals running
for cover, but have little chance of seeing them. This
may be frustrating for those interested in wildlife, but it
is only by this wariness that the animals, up till now fiercely
hunted, have managed to survive. Hopefully, in the future,
they will have no need to fear the approach of man. But,
in any case, in the undergrowth, the view is obstructed by vegetal
walls in every direction and on all the various levels superimposed
or mixed in luxurious but concealing draperies of tight foliage.
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| The endangered
palm specie of KPT |
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KPT forest is
completely surrounded by villages,
roads and plantations |
- Khao
Phra Thaew: An islet in the island of Phuket
Phuket is, at the same time, an island, a province in Southern
Thailand, a district, a city, an administrative center; a name
more and more well known, a region in the process of becoming
a showcase for the Kingdom. From the economic and touristic
point of view, Phuket is destined to improve, increasingly year
by year, her shining example. In her role as regional and national
showcase, the island should conserve one of the essential and
most threatened landscapes of the tropical world: that of the
large dense forest. Along with the developed countryside, in
places green and well organised but in others totally devastated
by strip mining, it became necessary to saveguard the only complete
forest still massive enough to evoke the primeval landscape,
the remaining vestige of an ancestral heritage in its full bloom.
As the island expands logistically, economically and touristically,
the Reserve of KPT will increase in importance as a wildlife
harbour, as a beneficial watershed, as a place of worthwhile
leisure, as well as a center of scientific research… as a testament
to ecological wisdom joining human development and natural conservation.
It was thus that KPT, a mountain range still covered with its
original vegetation in the northeast district of Thalang, was
chosen and promoted to an official Reserve by decree in
8th July 1980. But, since April 1977, the Provincial
Services had demarcated a protected area encompassing all the
wooded ranges. Certain advisors from the Forest Administration
had in mind the distinctive palm of Phuket which spreads its
elegant foliage and which as been designated with the botanical
name “kerriodoxa elegans”
Fortunately, Phuket
does not represent the forest condition of Southern Thailand
that is in fact far more wooded with large areas covered by
stands of tall, dense and shady vegetation. Is it well known
that only the dense forest can withstand the climatic extremes
of the Tropics. Long observation shows that a certain percentage
of dense forested cover, especially in hilly areas, guaranties
a good distribution of water, both enough for dry season as
well as providing drainage in rainy season. It also prevents
the effects of erosion to the lower soil which is the most suitable
location for agriculture and settlements. In addition, it ensures
the continued flourishing of these activities and installations,
above all if they occupy well-chosen land. Under these climatic
conditions, the settlements in hilly regions have the best opportunity
of prospering to the extent that they preserve the original
vegetation of mountains, steep slopes, natural watersheds, in
short the zone which, at the same time, are unsuitable for exploitation
and which compose the most vulnerable part of the landscape.
In the entire island, this insufficient forest cover may in
part appear to be corrected by the replanting of plantation
trees at least on the lower slopes and as far as the steep ones,
This insufficiency can only serve to validate the creation of
the Reserve of KPT which was not just suitable but in fact has
become indispensable, above all considering present development,
ever increasing but, at the same time, thoughtfully balanced.
- Situation and Description
Thanks to its integrity, which permits a biological balance
to remain, KPT offers an excellent example of Malaysian equatorial
flora which is found up to the South of Thailand. However, this
kind of flora is here approaching its outer limits, to the extent
that it can only survive if not disturbed by man, It could advance
up the Peninsula only in its initial leap and can only be replaced
by the more hearty tropical continental flora.On the ochre-brown
soil, emanating from granite decomposition, receiving abundant
and sufficiently distributed rainfalls, an evergreen rainforest
has developed. Here, the vegetation remains green all year long.
If indeed the trees change their leaves, this happens in only
a few days and at very different times, depending on the species,
which are numerous and varied. In fact, this type of forest
is in perpetual biological activity. One can see, during the
shedding of the leaves, spring and fall on the same branch.
The species which follow seasonal cycles do not obey the same
rhythms, but rather each at their own time. The wet tendency
is displayed by the presence of species that are not found in
tropical climates with a long dry season and also by the abundance
of certain plants of the undergrowth, usually only encountered
in low sheltered sites, but here present, indeed teeming with
life, everywhere along the range, Notably, the richness of palms,
both in quantity and variety, it is one of the most remarkable
features of KPT, which in addition, offers Kerriodoxa elegans
its only known refuge. Among the dominant trees, one can find
some of stunning dimension in the prime of their development.
Since so many of the species, and among the most characteristic,
belong to the Southern flora (here equatorial) of the Peninsula,
this forest formation is truly representative, for Thailand
in general, of a particular regional entity. Furthermore, apart
from its botanic composition, the very structure presents itself
in various levels (strata) of trees, each composing a distinct
biological unity. Thus, for every level there is a corresponding
category of trees which includes, evidently but in small number,
the immature off-springs of the upper levels.
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Malayan Flying Lemur |
Crab (Phricotelphusa limula) |
Red-Billed
Malkoha |
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- Topography,
Soil and Climate
The reserve stretches along
a range, in a north-south direction, with its tops slightly
emerging. As the only exception, the crest of KPT stands alone
on the south, well separated from the others which reach 400
to 450 m, just over the watershed line. But this relatively
low range is flanked by abrupt slopes, without any hilly transition
from the lowland that is near the sea level. In the interior,
an intricate drainage system has deeply embedded itself, Streams
and rivlets appear as torrents; they spring forth in a series
of stepped waterfalls descending in narrow gullies. In the stream
beds, the granite rocks can be seen as level with the ground,
or piled one upon the other, or in flat paving stones that obstruct
the water, forcing the flow sharply over or, especially in dry
season, to infiltrate the soil and then reappear down the waterfall.
Some slopes are dotted with small rocks, but the greater part
of the range is made up of deeply decomposed ochre soils that
cover all the hills, becoming brown humus near the surface.
Crumbly and ever soft at the foot of the slopes, the superficial
soil appears to be compact on some crest, especially in the
northern part; but the favorable distribution of rainfall avoids
the crusting effect that to often occurs in climates with severe
dry seasons. However, this advantage is closely links with the
perpetuation of the protecting forest cover. At this latitude
(about 8°), the temperatures remain remarkably constant
and the dry season is indeed less severe than in the North and
Central Regions of Thailand. So, the climate resemble subequatorial
one: wet tropical with a short dry season. The mean annual temperature
is 28°; the average of the maximums is 31° 4, with 33° 2 as
the hottest month; the average of the minimum is 23° 8, with
22° 8 as the least month. The constant and high minimums are
in fact those of the low latitude, but the precipitation puts
the region in a transitional one. The year is divided into 8
humid months, from April to November; 2 dry months, January
and February; the remaining 2 months are variable, but generally
December can be considered as sub-humid and March as sub-dry
(N. Humid month: the amount of rainfall in mm exceeds or is
equal to the average temperature in degree. Sub-humid: the amount
of rainfall is equal to 3 to 4 times the average temperature.
Sub-dry month: the amount of rainfall is equal to 2 to 3 times
the average temperature. Dry month: The amounts of rainfall
do not reach 2 times the average temperature. Here, min. lower
than min.). Thus, Khao Phra Thaew is indeed more humid (and
less hot), as the masses vegetation attraction and retains the
convection rains which do not benefit the surrounding countryside
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Wildlife Conservation Development
and Extension Center
The Wildlife Conservation Development and Extension Centre (WCDEC).
Situated at the non-hunting area’s south west side at the foot
of the
Ton Sai waterfall,
it provides education on KPT. This involves giving lectures
to students and other visitors on the one hand and the design
and distribution of brochures on the other hand. The WCDEC was
set up as soon as KPT was designated as a non-hunting area.
Although the center is related to the non-hunting area, it is
generally regarded as separate from it. The Wildlife Conservation
Development and Extension Center and non-hunting areas are distinct
parts of the same organization level, namely the Wildlife Conservation
Division, the Thai National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation
Department.
Apart from Ton Sai waterfall, the center's most
important attraction is its spacious and well equipped visitor
centre. Groups of 20-50 students from the Phuket region weekly
visit the center. Most of them are from primary and secondary
schools; occasionally a group of university students visits
Ton Sai. At the visitor center the students are given lectures
on forest conservation in general and on KPT in particular.
Next, they are either taken for a short walk in the nature trail
close to the center, or they cross the forest to Bang Pae substation
in a couple of hours. The centre further disposes over 6 basic
guest rooms which can be booked all through the year, while
three small restaurants provide visitors with meals and refreshments |
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Ecosystem of
Khao Phra Theaw Forest
- Tropical Rain Forest
The major part of Khao Phra Taew is a tropical rain forest,
constituting primarily of evergreen trees. The rain forest
exhibits a high diversity of plants and animals. The most commonly
occurring plants in Khao Phra Taew are Dipterocarpus
spp., Hopea odorate Roxb., Intsis palembanica Miq
Other small trees and shrubs, including vines, are also found
in the lower level of this rain forest. Such as Palms, Rattans,
Bamboos. Climbers, Orchids, Ferns and Mosses,
 which
sometimes can be found on the tree branches. This forest is
the origin of many rivers in the area, which all life forms
rely on. Rainforests, like this one, are the most diverse ecosystem
type on earth because of the enormous number of life forms present.
There is growing concern about the loss of this diversity as
a result of rain forest destruction. Many organisms live their
entire life cycles in the forest, and we would like to help
you open your mind to the great value and beauty of the rain
forest.
- Bang
Pae Waterfall
Bang Pae is a small-size, perennial
waterfall with a small stream. The most beautiful part of this
waterfall is the cliff, where the water runs through, with a
height of 16.7m cascading down to a stream for the distance
of about 524 m. There are some pools where people can go swimming
along the stream. Many wild animals such as wild boars, porcupines,
mouse deer, crabs, birds and many insects usually come out to
feed in the shady and fertile area of the waterfall. A little
dam was built downstream for irrigation and agricultural purpose.
This shows that all life is able to benefit from this waterfall.
- Birds
From the walkway, you may see various kinds of birds feeding
around, on the trees or on the ground. Two types of birds, native
and migratory birds, are found in this area. The native ones
can be found year round building their nests to lay eggs.
 These
types of birds include Asian Fairy-bluebird, Green Leafbird,
Red-Billed Malkoha, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo and Brahminy
Kite. The migratory birds, such as Forest wagtail, Blue-Winged
Pitta, Siberian Blue Robin, do not nest here and are only found
from October to March. The observation of birds in their natural
habitat is becoming a popular hobby, and has great appeal to
many bird-watchers, but birds are also ecologically important
in spreading plant seeds that enhance the diversity in the ecosystem.
Climbers In the highly diverse evergreen forest everybody will
notice the climbers, the great vines which have become the symbol
of the tropical rainforest. These climbers behave like big ropes
hanging on other trees to lift them up until they reach the
zone of higher light intensity. Only a small amount of light
can penetrate through the dense tree canopy, therefore intense
competition for light is seen in this environment. Tree growth
requires substantial energy investment, which some plants avoid
by depending on the stems of other plants for support. Perhaps
the most obvious adaptation of this sort is seen in plants that
climb from the ground to the uppermost canopy along other plants.
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Bamboo
Every body might think that these
tall, jointed stem plants are just typical trees, but they are
actually giant, fast growing grasses that have woody stems.
If you carefully determine each arial stem of the bamboo, they
look like a gigantic type of grass. These woody, hollow, arial
stems, called culms, grow in branching clusters from a thick
underground stem (rhizome), and can attain an age of 50-60 years.
The young culms (shoots) arise directly from the stem. Bamboo
is used for a great variety if purposes. Underground stems (rhizomes)
are a good food source for many wild animals such as wild boars,
porcupines, and deer. Most bamboos flower and produce seeds
only once in their lifetime and birds and squirrels usually
eat these seeds. For many reasons, this wonderful giant grass
is of great help to the ecosystem.
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Ferns
Ferns have been with us for more than
400 million years, before any other plant on earth. Ferns (or
“Goud”, as they are called by local people) are varied in the
size and shape of their leaves (fronds) and stem (rhizome).
Ferns grow in many different habitats around the world. They
are easily seen in the mountainous areas of northern and southern
Thailand. The majority of ferns inhabit warm, damp areas, although
certain species grow on dry ground, or rocky areas. In a tropical
rain forest like Khao Phra Taew ferns are found on the
damp, shady soil, boulders, or walkways. Some, such as selaginella
sp., Drynaria quercifolia (L) J., Asplenium nidus
L., Platycerium grow on the tree brances.
- Crab: Phricotelphusa
limula
If you carefully look in the little
stream or puddles while you are on the walking through the forest,
you will see a tiny reddish creature with two little claws,
one a little bit bigger than the other. Its body is about 1-2
centimeters wide with long legs, which enable it to move quickly.
This animal is a crab, with the scientific name Phricotelphusa
limula The Phricotelphusa crab lives underneath the stones in
the shallow part of a fast-running stream. Crabs only crawl
to either their left or right side and have very sensitive eyes
that make them quickly crawl to their stone-shelter after being
disturbed. Like many other crustaceans, crabs are often omnivorous
and act as scavengers, helping to clean up the ecosystem.
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Wang Sai at the source of Bang Pae Waterfall |
Bang Pae Waterfall
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The endangered palm specie of KPT |
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- Squirrels
 This
type of mammal lives mainly in the trees although there are
some ground Squirrels. Squirrels usually feed alone during the
daytime, and only in the breeding season will couples
(with or without their young) be found. Squirrels are opportunistic
feeders. Their diet varies depending on the season and what
is available. They eat fruits, leaves or even insects. There
are various kinds of Squirrels but ones that are easily seen
in the walkway of Khao Phra Taew are Malayan Black Giant
Squirrels, the Red-Bellied Squirrels and the Grey-Bellied Squirrels
(Black-Tip Tail Squirrel). The Malayan Black Giant Squirrels
are the largest squirrel you will see.
They have a black
head and yellowish orange hair on their cheeks, neck and chin.
The hair on their backs is black in colour. As the name sugggests
the Red-Bellied Squirrels have red or brown hair on their bellies.
The rest of their body and tail hair is brownish grey
or brown and they have one big black band on their back. Greenish
brown and black striped bushy tails are the characteristics
of the Grey-Bellied Squirrel. Squirrels play an important role
in the food chain of the ecosystem because they help distribute
plant seeds.
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Palm Lang Kaw
(Kerriodoxa)
The International Union for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) lists it as the world's most endangered palm
species.
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History
On the eleventh of March 1929 Dr
A.F.G. Kerr, an Irish botanist, came to Khao Phra Thaew and
collected some specimens of a palm found near the river. Dr
Kerr was famous for identifying plants in Thailand between the
years of 1902 and 1932. He could not identify its name and species
so he took the specimens back to Kew gardens in London, England.
The area of forest (Khao Phra Thaew) this palm was found in
was made a national wildlife park and forest reserve in 1977.
It was later named a wildlife conservation, development and
extension centre. Dr Tem Smitinand, botanist for the Royal forest
department who were responsible for the forest and Mr Jaran
Buunep, the chief of the Khao Chong herbarium in Trang province
passed on the information about this palm to Dr John Dransfield
a specialist in palms. They invited Dr Dransfield to come and
collect samples of this palm. He then found that it was a new
genus of palm and printed it in the Principes journal volume
27 1983. He named the species Kerriodoxa after Dr Kerr. Kerriodoxa
is monotypic genus Kerriodoxa elegans Dransfield. In Thai it
is called Palm Lang Khao, Tang Lang Khao or Palm Jao Muang Talang.
It is an endemic species to Thailand that is very rare and deforestation
means it is now endangered.
Above information
from
Mr. Awat Nitikul, Chief of
the Khao Phra Theaw Non-hunting Area
(National Park, Wildlife
and Plant Conservation Department)
Khao Phra Theaw Wildlife
Park and Forest Reserve, Jean Boulbet and Nophadol Briksavan |
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