Indochinese Tigers
- The first tiger was brought to the Pha Luang Ba Tua
Buddhist Temple in 1998 after being injured by a hunter, but
died within days. Soon after, two very ill cubs arrived with large
knife wounds in their stomachs. Miraculously, they survived,
and the temple quickly earned a reputation as a tiger
haven. "When the villagers saw how we tended to the
first tigers they brought others. Some were injured by hunters who
had a change of heart, others by people who did not want the tiger
near their village but also did not want to see it die," Phusit
said.
The
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that there are between 150 and
500 tigers remaining in the wild in Thailand. Healthy tigers from
the Temple are sent back to the forest once they are ready to
return.
To
return to the wild, the tigers do not have far to go. The
temple sits on a small plain surrounded by jagged rocky outcrops
about 40 kilometers beyond the famous World War II-era Bridge on
the River Kwai.
