Nighttime camera-trap footage in Thailand showed a female tiger named Mae Kaew traveling through the forest with cubs, a vivid sign of the country's growing tiger population.
Her breeding success spans three litters and a new generation, with one of her daughters already having cubs of her own.
Here's what to know
Mae Kaew, a former resident of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, has raised nine cubs across three litters after later moving into Thailand's Upper Western Forest Complex in 2021, A-Z Animals reported. Her first litter, in 2022, included two cubs; her second, in 2023, included three; and a 2026 litter included four.
Mae Kaew's descendants are reproducing, too. A daughter from the 2022 litter has had cubs, extending the line and making the older tigress a grandmother.
A female tiger that repeatedly raises cubs usually has reliable prey, protected habitat, and little human disturbance around her. Mae Kaew's track record therefore suggests those conditions are in place where she lives, raising hope for other wildlife success stories.
On July 29, 2026, the Royal Thai Government announced that the country's tiger population is estimated at 210 to 257 individuals.
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More background
After years of decline tied to poaching, habitat loss, and depleted prey, Thailand has become the only Association of Southeast Asian Nations country with a tiger population that is rising on a sustained basis.
The figures come from a multi-agency survey that deployed camera traps across 30 protected areas and found tigers in 26. The survey involved several partners: Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wildlife Fund Thailand, Panthera, the Freeland Foundation, and the Khao Nang Ram Wildlife Research Station and the Dong Phaya Yen-Khao Yai Wildlife Research Station.
Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary remains the stronghold, with 100 tigers counted there. Eastern Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary had 25, and its western section had 15, with additional animals found in forest complexes such as Kaeng Krachan-Kui Buri.
What's being done?
Thailand's tiger recovery dates back at least to 2010, when the country signed the St. Petersburg Declaration, an international pledge to double wild tiger numbers. Thailand has carried out two National Action Plans for Tiger Conservation.
A major part of that strategy is the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool Patrol system, which helps officials monitor threats, deter poaching, and collect field data. The country has also invested in its ranger workforce to better protect national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
WWF-Thailand has also partnered with Thailand's parks, wildlife, and plant conservation department to restore the prey base tigers need by moving sambar deer and banteng into habitat and tracking them with GPS collars and camera traps to monitor how well they survive.
Where can I learn more?
Thailand's tiger rebound is part of a wider story about big-cat recoveries and habitat pressures across the region and beyond.
• In Nepal, the tiger boom reaches 429 as conflict grows along park edges.
• In Florida, bobcat attacks diamondback rattlesnake in rare camera-trap footage.
• From Mexico to Argentina, the overlooked jaguarundi is now listed as near threatened.
• In Cambodia, residents say timber trucks haul cleared forest from a national park.
• In Thailand, a 400kg crocodile is lifted by crane as floodwater rises.
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