| Khao Laem National Park | |
|---|---|
| IUCN category II (national park) | |
 Khao Laem Sea of Mist | |
  Map of Thailand | |
| Location | Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand |
| Nearest city | Sangkhlaburi |
| Coordinates | 15°01′20″N 98°35′50″E / 15.02222°N 98.59722°E / 15.02222; 98.59722 |
| Area | 1,497 km (578 sq mi) |
| Established | 5 December 1987 |
| Visitors | 66,192 (in 2019) |
| Governing body | Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation |
Khao Laem National Park is a park of about 1,500 square kilometers (370,658 acres) in Western Thailand, located near Myanmar in the northern area of the Tenasserim Hills, Kanchanaburi Province. It is a part of the Western Forest Complex, a system of protected wilderness in the Dawna-Tenasserim Hills area of western Thailand.
The park, which is adjacent to the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, surrounds the Khao Laem Reservoir, located about 340 km northwest of Bangkok. It is bisected by Road 323. The environments and vegetation consist of mixed deciduous forests and hilly, dry evergreen forests, mainly in the northeast of the park. Prominent mammalian fauna in the area includes endemic species such as Asiatic black bear, elephant, several species of deer, dhole, gaur, gibbons, langurs, leopard, macaques, tiger, water buffalo and wild boar, to name a few.
The park hosted the second season of New Zealand version of Survivor, Survivor NZ: Thailand.
Geography
The area of the park is 935,584 rai ~ 1,497 square kilometres (578 sq mi) with steeply limestone mountain run on north-south axis. It is located next to the Vajiralongkorn Reservoir.
Climate
The area is in a tropical climate, influenced by monsoons, southern winds and the Andaman Sea. The region’s annual weather patterns are divided into three main seasonal periods:
- Rainy season (June–October): monsoon-influenced precipitation and flooding.
- Cold season (November–January): the lowest temperature recorded was 10 °C (50 °F).
- Hot, dry season (February–May): the highest temperature record was 38 °C (100.4 °F), in April.
Flora and fauna
The park consists of mixed deciduous forests and hill-evergreen and dry-evergreen forests, the habitats of animals such as:
- Asian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus)
- Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus)
- Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis)
- Bengal tiger (Panthera t. tigris)
- Civet, Asian palm (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)
- Civet, Large Indian (Viverra zibetha)
- Civet, Southeast Asian palm (Paradoxurus musangus)
- Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
- Eld's deer (Rucervus eldii)
- Gaur (Bos gaurus)
- Golden cat (Catopuma temminckii)
- Golden jackal, Indochinese (Canis aureus cruesemanni)
- Gray langur, Indochinese (Trachypithecus crepusculus)
- Hog badger, Greater (Arctonyx collaris)
- Hog deer, Indochinese (Axis porcinus)
- Leopard, Indochinese (Panthera pardus delacouri)
- Leopard cat, Mainland (Prionailurus bengalensis)
- Lutung, Indochinese (Trachypithecus germaini)
- Lar or white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar)
- Macaque, Assamese (Macaca assamensis)
- Macaque, Long-tailed (Macaca fascicularis)
- Macaque, Northern pig-tailed (Macaca leonina)
- Macaque, Rhesus (Macaca mulatta)
- Macaque, Stump-tailed (Macaca arctoides)
- Marten, Yellow-throated (Martes flavigula)
- Muntjac, Northern red (Muntiacus vaginalus)
- Otter, Asian small-clawed (Aonyx cinereus)
- Porcupine, East Asian (Hystrix brachyatus)
- Sambar (Cervus unicolor)
- Squirrel, Black giant
- Squirrel, Pallas' (Callosciurus erythraeus)
- Treeshrew, Northern
- Weasel, Stripe-backed (Mustela strigidorsa)
See also
References
- "National Park of Thailand, Online Reservation National Park of Thailand, Forest Park of Thailand, Thailand National Park, Thailand Forest Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Royal Forest Department". www.dnp.go.th. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- Elliot, Stephan; Cubitt, Gerald (2001). THE NATIONAL PARKS and other Wild Places of THAILAND. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. pp. 42–44. ISBN 9781859748862.
- "Observations • iNaturalist". iNaturalist. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
- Fenwick, George (22 April 2018). "Thailand: braving the roads to Sangkhlaburi, ahead of Survivor New Zealand series two". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- "ข้อมูลพื้นที่อุทยานแห่งชาติ ที่ประกาศในราชกิจจานุบกษา 133 แห่ง" [National Park Area Information published in the 133 Government Gazettes]. Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (in Thai). December 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2022, no 67
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "National Park of Thailand, Online Reservation National Park of Thailand, Forest Park of Thailand, Thailand National Park, Thailand Forest Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Royal Forest Department". Archived from the original on 2009-03-26.
External links
- Description of Khao Laem National Park
- Khao Laem National Park at westernforest.org
- Interactive map of Khao Laem National Park at World Database on Protected Areas (UNEP and IUCN) Archived 2014-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Map of Khao Laem National Park