This extremely rare Gaur was spotted just a short canoe ride away from our Rainforest Camp on the Cheow Larn Lake. Indicated as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List this species is believed to have only between 13 – 30,000 individuals (and this is a crude guess ) left across Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Lao PDR, Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Viet Nam. This number is even less than the estimated population of Asian Elephants in South East Asia, which is between 30-50,000 individuals, and the Asian Elephant is classified as “Endangered”.

There are 2 subspecies in Thailand and this individual is of the bos gaurus hubbacki  subspecies which is the rarer of the two. There are no estimates for how many remain in Khao Sok but this sighting is evidence that they are still here. Let’s hope they continue to roam the forests of Khao Sok and surrounding areas for generations to come and that we are lucky enough to see more soon!

Below are a few of the wildlife pictures we have been lucky enough to take at the Rainforest Camp over the past few months. Perhaps on your next trip to Elephant Hills and the Rainforest Camp you too will be able to catch a glimpse of these amazing creatures.