Phu Luang Wildlife Sanctuary ( th, เขตรักษาพันธุ์สัตว์ป่าภูหลวง) is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is geographically characterised by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them. Though like most of Thailand ...

, located in the

Phu Luang Phu or ''variation'', may refer to: Places *Phủ, prefecture in 15th–19th century Vietnam People Given name *Phu Dorjee (died 1987), first Indian to climb Mount Everest without oxygen *Phu Dorjee Sherpa (died 1969), first Nepali to climb Mount ...

mountain area, in the south of Loei Province. The area around the mountain is part of the

Luang Prabang montane rain forests The Luang Prabang montane rain forests ecoregion (WWF ID: IM0121) covers elevations over 800 meters in the Luang Prabang mountains that straddle the border between northern Thailand and north-central Laos, and the highlands that stretch eastward a ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

. It covers an area of 897 km², covering area of the ''

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province (''changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' ...

'' Pla Ba and Tha Sala of

Phu Ruea District Phu Ruea ( th, ภูเรือ, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the western part of Loei province, northeastern Thailand. History The government split off some parts of Tha Li, Mueang Loei, and Dan Sai Districts and made them into the minor ...

, Phon Sung, Wang Yao and I Pum of Dan Sai, Nong Ngio and Saikhao of Wang Saphung, and Phu Ho of Phu Luang District.

History

The wildlife reserve was established in 1974. In 1985 it was further enlarged by 97 km². The reserve is named after its highest mountain, which peaks at 1,571 m. The reserve covers the whole mountain plateau around the peak, which has an elevation of around 1,200 m. To west of the reserve the

Loei River The Loei River ( th, แม่น้ำเลย, , ) is the one of tributaries of the Mekong River. It originates at the western shore of the Phu Luang plateau, at first flowing southwards. Changing to an eastward direction it becomes the bounda ...

originates. "Phu Luang" means "large mountain" or the "mountain of the king", formed by an uplift of the earth's crust and a slide of soft soil down to lower elevations.

Environment

There are three seasons at Phu Luang. Summer runs from February to April with an average temperature of 20-24 °C. During this season, flowers such as

dendrobium ''Dendrobium'' is a genus of mostly epiphytic and lithophytic orchids in the family Orchidaceae. It is a very large genus, containing more than 1,800 species that are found in diverse habitats throughout much of south, east and southeast Asia, i ...

s, white wild

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s, white and red

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

s bloom. The rainy season is from May to October, when the temperature is equal to or slightly higher than in summer. There will be tiny wild flowers in purplish pink scattered in the savanna. The temperature drops during the winter to 0-16 °C in November – January. On some days, the temperature can drop to -4 °C. During this season, ''kuam daeng'' ('' Acer calcaratum'') will turn red and shed their leaves. ''Kradum ngoen'' ('' Eriocaulon henryanum'' Ruhle) and lady's slipper orchids ('' Paphiopedilum sukhakulii'' Schoser & Senghas) make up the undergrowth of the hill evergreen forest. On the east side of Phu Luang

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

footprints on the rock, aged more than 120 million years, were discovered. There are various kinds of forests such as

mixed deciduous forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...

dry evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, Live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zon ...

, and hill evergreen forest. The most prominent ones at Phu Luang are ''

Pinus merkusii ''Pinus merkusii'', the Merkus pine or Sumatran pine, is a pine native to the Malesia region of southeast Asia, and the only one that occurs naturally south of the equator. Description ''Pinus merkusii'' is a medium-sized to large tree, reachin ...

'' and Khasi pine forests, savanna on plains, mounds, and stone terraces. The wildlife sanctuary has organised the Phu Luang Nature Study Route, starting from Amphoe Phu Ruea at Khok Nok Kraba, passing Lan Suriyan, Pha Somdet, and the dinosaur footprints. The reserve is home to an estimated 100 wild

Asian elephants The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus '' Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the n ...

. The Elephants Rehabilitation Project within the wildlife reserve is under the patronage of

Queen Sirikit Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wif ...

."Elephant and Men in Phu Luang"
''Chaipattana Journal'', August 2001. The Phu Luang cliff frog (''Huia aureola'') was found within the reserve in 2006, notable for its ability to change color. Also more than 160 species of orchids grow in the area.

References

External links

*''Royal Gazette'' entries for Phu Luang:
Issue 91, Part 216 (December 18 1974)

Issue 102, Part 134 (September 26 1985)
*
Forestry department
(Thai only) {{Authority control Wildlife sanctuaries of Thailand Phetchabun Mountains Protected areas established in 1974 1974 establishments in Thailand