From one mother to nine cubs: the tiger helping tell Thailand’s recovery story
© Adam Oswell / WWF-Thailand
Deep in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex, a tigress named Mae Kaew is helping write one of the most hopeful conservation stories in Southeast Asia.
Meet Mae Kaew: a mother tiger's story of species recovery
© DNP / WWF Thailand
In 2021, Mae Kaew moved out of the renowned Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary and established her own territory in the Upper Western Forest Complex. Since then, camera traps have documented an extraordinary journey. Over just a few years, she has successfully raised three litters. That is nine new tigers from a single mother.
And the story continues… with another chapter. One of Maw Kaew’s daughters, born in 2022, has now had her own two cubs. After establishing her territory in the same park in late 2023, she has become a mother herself for the first time. And that means Maw Kaew is officially a grandmother!
For a species that has faced decades of poaching, habitat loss, and declining prey populations, Mae Kaew’s success is more than a remarkable family story. It is evidence that Thailand’s forests are becoming places where tigers can survive, breed, and thrive once again.
© WWF
WWF's 2026 Living Planet Report
Amid an average 73% decline in wildlife population sizes, scientists reveal grounds for hope like Mae Kwan the tiger. Discover the impacts of declining biodiversity and what must be done to reverse that trend.
How Thailand grew its wild tiger numbers
In 2026, the Royal Thai Government announced a new national wild tiger population estimate of 210 tigers, up from the previous estimate of 148-189 tigers in 2022. This achievement makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to increase its wild tiger population, bucking a regional trend of decline and local, even national, extinctions.
Thailand's tiger recovery demonstrates what is possible when conservation is sustained over the long term. Significant investments have strengthened the country's ranger workforce, helping protect national parks and wildlife sanctuaries from poaching and illegal activities. The widespread use of SMART patrols, which enable rangers to systematically monitor threats and collect field data, has improved the protection of tiger habitat across key landscapes.
© WWF-Thailand / Tigers Alive
Why human-tiger coexistence matters
Forest rangers together with WWF-Thailand staff are also finding new ways to bring conservation messages to wider communities. Through the “Big Cat Band,” rangers use music and songs to connect with the public and encourage people to value and protect Thailand’s wildlife. These efforts are helping build awareness and trust between rangers and communities and inspire a new generation to become part of the country’s long-term tiger conservation story.
Partnerships with communities living in the landscape sharing space with tigers have been critical to the success. WWF Thailand has also been working to bring tiger education into schools and communities, giving young people opportunities to connect with their forests. At Khlong Lan National Park, a Tiger House and a Tiger Science classroom at Khlong Lan Kindergarten School give children opportunities to learn about tigers, wildlife and forest ecosystems through hands-on activities and creative learning.
At the same time, efforts have focused on restoring populations of prey species that tigers depend on. Since 2021, WWF-Thailand has supported the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation in reintroducing more than 180 sambar deer into tiger habitats. Banteng, an endangered wild cattle species, is also being reintroduced. In early 2026, three adult banteng were moved to an acclimatization enclosure in Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary as part of Thailand’s broader banteng population recovery efforts. These animals are monitored through GPS collars and camera traps to understand their survival and movement. Restoring these prey populations is not only about saving banteng, but also about rebuilding the wider ecosystem that also supports Thailand’s recovering tiger population.
© Thomas Cristofoletti / Ruom for WWF
What it takes for tigers to thrive
For tiger conservationists, a breeding female is one of the clearest signs of a healthy population. A tigress must have sufficient prey, secure habitat, and low levels of disturbance to successfully raise cubs. Mae Kaew has done so three times. Her nine cubs represent new generations of wild tigers that can one day establish territories of their own, strengthening Thailand's recovering population.
Across much of Southeast Asia, wild tiger populations have declined dramatically, and tigers have disappeared entirely from some countries over the last quarter century. Thailand's recovery offers real HOPE that this trajectory can be reversed when conservation investments are sustained and supported by Indigenous Peoples and local communities, strong management, and science.
© Jasper Doest / WWF