Page 59 - Skd 204-2545-02

It is nol surprisingthat at leastone in a qroupof wildlifepoacheEis someone
in unifom. lt was earlyin the yearbackin 1996,whenNikhon Putlha,the firsi
to spotsaursin PhaensMa lvlountainbackin 1995,was instantlystirredawakeby a lotldgunshoi
inging lhroughihe coolmountainair, Nikhomsuspectedimmediateltyhat the gunshotsbelonged
to wildlifehunleb, andmadea consciousdecisionto driveup to lhe nounlainwith his colleasues

ntwhutbta: "l droveup therewith rnyown guns,,a, longthe way,unidenliliedpeopleshot at our car.
I stoppedlhe car,grabbedrnysunandEdio andjumpedoul to hidebythe sideof the road. I could
6ntwnSt! hiDtaiD onlyseeblinkinslishts,and| 6ouldn'tlisure out wherethe shotswerecominglrom. Becausethey
U UU ] I W D J ' ] kepl shootingat us, I hadto radiolor help. We exchangedgunfirefor whal could havebeen5-6
!oi:l w.n. \odm611 minules, Thenwhenwe couldn'tlocateone another,I forcedeveryonelo relreat,to ascerlainif
anyonewasmissing...A" fierthe wholefiascowasundercontfolandthe I poacherswerein custody,
ituWdr Nikhomcomicallyrecounlsthat,sureenough,one in the grouphad beena policeofficer.

r a :n o w | t n n r l Theincidenlattractedthe altentionol the entirelocalcommunityw, hichhadalreadybeen
USeuri.JUn;u tirelesslyengagedwith a privateorganizatiofnor developmenitn revivingrhe PhaenqMa lvlountain,
n t w a l D b Du u Allhoughlheir effortsat replenishihgthe healthandabundabceol the lllountain- which had long
6n]w u_rwDlri-l enduredharmsinflictedbothbyignoranpl eopleanddangerousforestlne-sweresuccessfulbecause
il restoredihe lrolntain andwelcomedbackthe gaurs,they realizedthat revivalwas not enough.
lh additionlo lookingafter plantlife andforest reconstruclioni,t was decidedthat the protection

nrdha_Dlnson-ls ol wildlifewas alsonecessary.
LlqnLJw-r-ruWu Today,the gaurscontinueto attractvisitors. The revitalizedstate of the Mountainhas
lU Uod
recenllyeamedit distinctionas partol the KhaoYaiNatiohaPl ark. Lel us hopethatlhe Mountain's
vitalityand the gau6 sateinhabitanceendures...

PhoengMo Moun

Story : Vanchai