#Thailand - Maya Bay to be closed for up to five years

Maya Bay’s beach, closed last year to allow coral restoration and beach recovery, could remain closed to visitors for many years. Maya Bay is located in the Phi Phi islands between Krabi and Phuket.

The famous Koh Phi Phi Ley beach needs time for its ecology to fully recover years of tourist abuse, this according to the Phi Phi national park chief Vorapot Lomlim as reported in Khaosod English.

“Maya Bay must continue to be closed until nature has fully recovered. We expect it will take four to five years.”

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“Since Maya was closed off nearly a year ago, sea creatures like reef sharks and ghost crabs have returned to the island.”

He also reported that 23,000 corals have been planted by marine officials since the closure last year.

Maya Bay was closed to tourist on June 1 last year. The Bay first became famous as part of the setting for the 2000 film ‘The Beach’ starring Leonardo Di Caprio. That fame would lead to a surge in tourists and a rapacious local tourist industry that ramped up the numbers of tours to cater for the international popularity.

At its peak Maya Bay, the south’s most popular attraction, was receiving up to 5-6,000 tourists a day. Unwittingly, the tourists were trampling the beach and surrounding areas whilst the boats delivering them to the famous beach were throwing anchors over the side, destroying the natural coral.

Initially the national park chiefs closed off Maya Bay access for a period of three months  but it soon became apparent that the fragile bay was going to need a lot longer to recover. Officials reported that up to 50 percent of the Bay’s coral was dead.

SOURCE: The Thaiger /  Khaosod English

Indigenous 'leopard cat' attacked by dog has recovered and been released into Phuket jungle

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Wildlife officials released a leopard cat into the wild on Wednesday near Bang Pae Waterfall in Phuket after the feline was rescued from a dog attack.

Jindarat Radchawongsa reported late last month that her sister had spotted the leopard cat while driving home, explained Piyawat Sukont, Chief of the Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Non-Hunting Area in Thalang.

“The sister saw a cat being attacked by a dog at Phanason Kathu Village, and called a rescue foundation to safely recover the cat,” he said.

The woman had no idea that the cat was a wildcat indigenous to the region, as it is no larger than a regular domesticated feline,” Chief Piyawat explained.

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“She learned the it was a leopard cat only after she got home and saw what people said after she posted photos on Facebook,” he added.

“After she learned what the cat really was, we received a call to come and collect it, and we took it to a wildlife rescue shelter in Phuket to be treated for its injuries,” Chief Piyawat added.
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Sourse: Coconuts.co

 

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