Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Endangered bison spotted for the first time in decades

Video footage from early October captured the bison roaming around in the dark at the Salawin Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Thailand

Stuti Mishra
Thursday 02 November 2023 19:27 GMT
Comments
Related video: Cowboys and cowgirls stage rare bison roundup in South Dakota

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A wildlife sanctuary in Thailand has captured a sighting of an endangered bison for the first time in 37 years.

Video footage from early October captured the bison roaming around in the dark at the Salawin Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Thailand, according to media reports. The sighting has reignited hopes that bison, known as Bos Gaurus locally, may be living within the sanctuary’s protected area.

It means that the sanctuary is the only protected forest in northern Thailand where the animal had been seen in decades.

The last time the large bovine was spotted was in 1986.

Arkhom Boonnontae, chief of the Salawin Wildlife Sanctuary, said staff had installed camera traps to better survey wildlife in the area, according to the NationThailand.

He said that they selected areas “where wildlife tracks were abundant or where different types of wildlife were reported to have been seen in the area”.

“And in the early hours of the morning in the past month, we got a photo of a rare wildlife in Northern Thailand, that is a Bos gaurus,” he told the outlet.

The sanctuary is an important biodiversity hotspot in the border forest region between Thailand and Myanmar.

The Bos Gaurus, also known as Gaur, is native to South and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN conservation red list since 1986.

The endangered species’ population in Thailand started decreasing are more and more of its habitat was taken away. The bisons are also threatened by poaching for the commercial trade in meat and trophy-hunting.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in