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Story: Vanchai Tan
Photos: Chaichana Jaruwannakorn
It is not surprising that at least one in a group of wildlife poachers is someone in uniform. It was early in the year back in 1996, when Nikhom Puttha, the first to spot bulls in Phaeng Ma Mountain back in 1995, was instantly stirred awake by a loud gunshot ringing through the cool mountain air. Nikhom suspected immediately that the gunshots belonged to wildlife hunters, and made a conscious decision to drive up to the mountain with his colleagues to investigate. |
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"I drove up there with my own guns... along the way, unidentified people shot at our car. I stopped the car, grabbed my gun and radio and jumped out to hide by the side of the road. I could only see blinking lights, and I couldn't figure out where the shots were coming from. Because they kept shooting at us, I had to radio for help. We exchanged gunfire for what could have been 5-6 minutes. Then when we couldn't locate one another, I forced everyone to retreat, to ascertain if anyone was missing..." After the whole fiasco was under control and the 8 poachers were in custody, Nikhom comically recounts that, sure enough, one in the group had been a police officer. |
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The incident attracted the attention of the entire local community, which had already been tirelessly engaged with a private organization for development in reviving the Phaeng Ma Mountain. Although their efforts at replenishing the health and abundance of the Mountain - which had long endured harms inflicted both by ignorant people and dangerous wildfires - were successful because it restored the Mountain and welcomed back the bulls, they realized that revival was not enough. In addition to looking after plant life and forest reconstruction, it was decided that the protection of wildlife was also necessary.
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Today, the bulls continue to attract visitors. The revitalized state of the Mountain has recently earned it distinction as part of the Khao Yai National Park Reserve. Let us hope that the Mountain's vitality and the bulls safe inhabitance endures...
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