Thale Ban National Park ( th, ทะเลบัน) is a forested area south of the Banthat Mountains in southern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, in the south of Satun Province bordering

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

; it borders Taman Negeri Perlis park. The park was established on 27 October 1980. It covers an area of 122,500 rai ~ of Khuan Don and Mueang Satun districts. The nearest town to the park is Satun, west of the park and approximately southwest of park headquarters.

Geography

The park is located around a valley which formed the historic link between Thailand and Malaysia. According to local lore, 300 years ago an earthquake formed the lake in the valley, probably due to a landslide which created a natural dam. Submerged trees found in the lake seem to confirm this story. The

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

hills contain several caves. Tham Ton Din is a river cave near park headquarters. The highest elevation within the park is Chin Mountain with an elevation of .

Flora and fauna

The park features forest types including tropical rain forest, mixed

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forest and coastal

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

forests. The rain forest is home to species of ''

Dipterocarpus '' D. retusus'' in Köhler ''Dipterocarpus'' is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae. ''Dipterocarpus'' is the third-largest and most diverse genus among the Dipterocarpaceae. The species are well known for ...

'', ''

Hopea ''Hopea'' is a genus of plants in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus was named after John Hope, 1725–1786, the first Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. It contains some 113 species, distributed from Sri Lanka and south ...

'', ''

Shorea Fruit of a ''Shorea'' species ''Shorea'' is a genus of about 196 species of mainly rainforest trees in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The genus is named after Sir John Shore, the governor-general of the British East India Company, 1793–1798. T ...

'', '' Parashorea'', ''

Alstonia ''Alstonia'' is a widespread genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, of the family Apocynaceae. It was named by Robert Brown in 1811, after Charles Alston (1685–1760), professor of botany at Edinburgh from 1716 to 1760. The type species ''Alsto ...

'', '' Caryota'' and ''

Calamus Calamus may refer to: Botany and zoology * ''Calamus'' (fish), a genus of fish in the family Sparidae * ''Calamus'' (palm), a genus of rattan palms * Calamus, the hollow shaft of a feather, also known as the quill * '' Acorus calamus'', the swe ...

''. The deciduous forest, unusual in southern Thailand, has species of ''Caryota'', ''

Lagerstroemia ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Aust ...

'', ''

Pterocymbium ''Pterocymbium'' is a genus in the family Malvaceae: in the subfamily Sterculioideae and previously placed in the Sterculiaceae. In Indonesia, ''P. tinctorium'' (''Kelumbuk'') is a significant timber tree. Species ''Plants of the World Online ...

'', ''

Vitex ''Vitex'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sage family Lamiaceae.List of Genera in Lamiaceae. At: Peter F. Stevens. 2001 onwards. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below). It has ...

'', ''

Schima ''Schima'' is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the tea family, Theaceae. The genus inhabits warm temperate to subtropical climates across southern and southeastern Asia, from the eastern Himalaya of Nepal and eastern India across Ind ...

'' and ''

Dillenia ''Dillenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Dilleniaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia, Australasia, and the Indian Ocean islands. The genus is named after the German botanist Johann Jacob Dillenius ...

''. The coastal forest is home to mangrove species such as ''

Rhizophora mucronata ''Rhizophora mucronata'' (loop-root mangrove, red mangrove or Asiatic mangrove) is a species of mangrove found on coasts and river banks in East Africa and the Indo-Pacific region. Description ''Rhizophora mucronata'' is a small to medium s ...

'', '' R. apiculata'', '' Bruguiera cylindrica'' and species of '' Avicennia''. The park is known to contain 64 mammal species, 282 bird species (including 8

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 mandibl ...

species), 40 reptile species and 20 amphibian species. Mammals include the endangered

Malayan tapir The Malayan tapir (''Tapirus indicus''), also called Asian tapir, Asiatic tapir and Indian tapir, is the only tapir species native to Southeast Asia from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since ...

, threatened

Sumatran serow The Sumatran serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis sumatraensis''), also known as the southern serow, is a subspecies of the mainland serow native to mountain forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was previo ...

and protected

marbled cat The marbled cat (''Pardofelis marmorata'') is a small wild cat native from the eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to an elevation of . As it is present in a large range, it has been listed as Near Threatened on the ...

. Other mammals include

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living Felidae, cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily pr ...

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

and

sun bear The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a species in the family Ursidae (the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'') occurring in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the smallest bear, standing nearly at the shoulder and weighing ...

. Birds in the park include

chestnut-bellied malkoha The chestnut-bellied malkoha (''Phaenicophaeus sumatranus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mo ...

orange-breasted trogon The orange-breasted trogon (''Harpactes oreskios'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is a colorful, sedentary species that inhabits the lower canopy of the lowlands and forest of southern China, southeast Asia, Borneo, Sumat ...

, Gould's frogmouth,

blue-winged pitta The blue-winged pitta (''Pitta moluccensis'') is a passerine bird in the family Pittidae. It forms a superspecies with three other pittas, the Indian pitta (''P. brachyura''), the fairy pitta (''P. nympha'') and the mangrove pitta (''P. megar ...

, blue-crowned hanging parrot, white-crowned hornbill, oriental pied hornbill,

brown boobook The brown boobook (''Ninox scutulata''), also known as the brown hawk-owl, is an owl which is a resident breeder in south Asia from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal east to western Indonesia and south China. This species is a part of ...

, black-and-red broadbill, Asian green broadbill, banded broadbill and

hill myna ''Gracula'' is a genus of mynas, tropical members of the starling family of birds found in southern Asia and introduced to Florida in the United States. Taxonomy The genus ''Gracula'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeu ...

. Reptiles include the common house gecko, large forest gecko,

reticulated python The reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus'') is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and is among the three heaviest. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its ...

, king cobra,

soft-shelled turtle The Trionychidae are a taxonomic family of a number of turtle genera, commonly known as softshell turtles. The family was erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1826. Softshells include some of the world's largest freshwater turtles, though many can a ...

and the endangered sunburst turtle.

References

External links

thaibirding.com on Thalebun national park
{{authority control National parks of Thailand Protected areas established in 1980 Geography of Satun province Tourist attractions in Satun province 1980 establishments in Thailand

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links