New highway planned to let
herds mingle - The
Nation, April 26, 2007
A 17-km elevated highway is to be built
through Khao Yai and Thap Lan national parks
to
allow wild elephant herds to mix and end 30
years of inbreeding.
The highway, to cost about 1.3 billion baht
to build, will replace the Kabin Buri-Pakthong
Chai road, which experts say poses ``a biological
barrier'' for wildlife, especially elephants.
...The Kabin Buri-Pakthong Chai road was paved
with funding from the United States government
as a supply route during the Vietnam War.
It cuts precisely along the Khao Yai-Thap
LAN border, separating two of the country's
richest forest reserves both in terms of geography
and wildlife biology.
...The planned highway will be about five
metres above ground. Once it is open the existing
Kabin Buri-Pakthong Chai road will be closed,
enabling the animals to pass back and forth.
Thap LAN has the largest population, about
300 animals....
New highway planned to let herds mingle
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