300px, Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary. Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าฮาลา-บาลา) is a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, considered to be one of the richest forests of Thailand in the southernmost part of the country. It is dubbed "

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology co ...

Asean ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military ...

". It was officially established in 1996. Its area is about 270,725

rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

s (about 167.244 mi²) which covers the area of

Titiwangsa Range The Titiwangsa Mountains ( Malay: ''Banjaran Titiwangsa,'' بنجرن تيتيوڠسا, ), also known as ''"Banjaran Besar"'' (Big Range) by locals, is the chain of mountains that forms the backbone of the Malay Peninsula. The northern section o ...

and is adjacent to Belum-Temengor Reserve of Malaysia. The Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary is a preserved forest comprising two forestland: Hala forest in Betong district in Yala province and Chanae district in

Narathiwat province Narathiwat ( th, นราธิวาส, Malay: Menara) is one of the southern provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from west clockwise) Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan ...

, with Bala forest in Waeng and Sukhirin districts in Narathiwat province. For Waeng people, it is called "Bala-Hala", but for locals in Betong, it is called "Hala-Bala". The forest was named after Khlong Bala, a natural ''

khlong A ''khlong'' ( th, คลอง, ), alternatively spelt as ''klong'' () commonly refers to a canal in Thailand. These canals are spawned by the rivers Chao Phraya, Tha Chin, and Mae Klong, along with their tributaries particularly in the low- ...

'' (canal) that flows into the Bang Lang Reservoir in Yala, which is a large stream originating from a tropical rainforest with tributaries from the Hala Mountaintop. It features a watershed forest situated in the deep forest adjacent to the Malaysian border and is home to various wild animals. Rare preserved wild animals have been traced as a variety of

hornbill Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a family of bird found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia and Melanesia. They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly coloured and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandib ...

species have been covered. Seasonally, flocks of a hundred to a thousand hornbills are found in the area. In particular, there are large and small flocks of

plain-pouched hornbill The plain-pouched hornbill (''Rhyticeros subruficollis'') is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found in forests of the Dawna Range and the Tenasserim Hills of southern Myanmar, adjacent parts of western Thailand and northern ...

(''Rhyticeros subruficollis'') annually migrating from the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary in central and western regions to this area in May, which number about 500 or more in total. Hala-Bala is also a habitat of up to 10 hornbills from a total of 13 species found in Thailand, such as

rhinoceros hornbill The rhinoceros hornbill (''Buceros rhinoceros'') is a large species of forest hornbill ( Bucerotidae). In captivity it can live for up to 35 years. It is found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates and in mountain rain forests ...

(''Buceros rhinoceros'') that can be closely seen along the Ban To Mo-Ban Bala route, including rare species

helmeted hornbill The helmeted hornbill (''Rhinoplax vigil'') is a very large bird in the hornbill family. It is found on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Myanmar. The casque (helmetlike structure on the head) accounts for some 11% of its 3 ...

(''Rhinoplax vigil'') as well. Also, large wild animals like

gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

s (''Bos gaurus'') are often found in the grassland by Khlong Bala. All of these point that the Hala forest is a complete tropical rainforest that is enriched by plants, wildlife, and a variety of bird species including

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...

, which maintain the balance of nature in this forest. In the part of rare plants that can be found in this forest, for example golden leaved liana, or locally called Yan Da-o (''Bauhinia aureifolia''), an endemic plant in Thailand found only in Narathiwat, Yala, and Pattani provinces. Maha Sadam ('' Cyathea podophylla''), a kind of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except th ...

, used to be food of dinosaurs that can make feels like returning to a primeval forest, and is a home of largest baing tree (''Tetrameles nudiflora'') in Thailand as well. Somsak Lampongpan (Story & Photos), มหัศจรรย์ป่าดิบชื้น ผืนป่าฮาลา (The Miracel of the Hala-Bala), Osotho, Vol. 60 Issue 2 (September 2019). th, ภาษาไทย

References

External links

* * {{Wildlife sanctuaries of Thailand category:Wildlife sanctuaries of Thailand category:1996 establishments in Thailand category:Protected areas established in 1996 Geography of Yala province Geography of Narathiwat province

See also

References

External links