Covering eight hectares, the Wildlife Rescue Center of the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park is nestled deep in the forest.
In March 2022, seven young Indochinese tigers that were rescued in a wildlife trafficking case, were transferred to the center for care.
Initially, the heaviest tiger weighed 64 kg and the lightest 56 kg.
After two years, the group of five female and two male tigers quickly developed, averaging 150-170 kg each, said Pham Hong Thai, the park's director.
The tiger enclosures inside the park. Each enclosure of over 25 sq.m is built in the semi-wild with an interconnected swimming pool, play area, and sleeping quarters, housing 1-2 tigers.
A tiger inside the enclosure.
Every day, rescue workers use pressure pumps for cleaning and water replacement. During the process, tigers are moved to an adjacent empty enclosure to avoid agitation during cleaning.
Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park employs seven staff members who take turns caring for the tigers. The Indochinese tigers are fed twice a day, alternating between beef, rabbit, and chicken.
On average, each tiger consumes five-seven kilos of meat. To strengthen their bones, the meal is supplemented with calcium tablets. The annual cost of food and care for the tigers exceeds VND1 billion (US$39,000).
After more than two years of caring for the Indochinese tigers, Tran Le and her colleagues have become familiar with each tiger's habits.
Every time when feeding them, Le always takes a few minutes to watch and wave to them.
Tran Ngoc Anh, Director of the Rescue, Conservation, and Development Center at the park, said that the Indochinese tigers are annually examined by both domestic and international wildlife experts.
Depending on each tiger's health condition, experts will either visit the enclosures or bring them to a medical room for examination.
The Indochinese tiger weighs between 180 to 250 kg and measures approximately 2.7 m from nose to tail. Its natural habitat is the moist broadleaf forests of the tropical and subtropical regions. This population has declined by more than 70% over the past decade.
Six countries, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, China, Myanmar, and Vietnam, collectively are home to about 350 Indochinese tigers.
