Mae Kaew’s nine cubs highlight Thailand’s tiger recovery

A wild tigress named Mae Kaew has raised nine cubs and become a grandmother in Thailand’s western forests, according to an A-Z Animals report republished by Yahoo. Her breeding history offers a close-up view of the recovery behind the country’s rising tiger population estimates.

Thailand’s government announced an estimated population of 210–257 tigers on 29 July 2026, the report said. The estimate drew on a multi-agency survey using camera traps across 30 protected areas, with tigers recorded in 26.

Three generations in the forest

Mae Kaew previously lived in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary before moving north in 2021 and settling in the Upper Western Forest Complex. Her recorded offspring comprise two cubs born in 2022, three in 2023 and four in 2026.

A female from her 2022 litter has since produced cubs of her own. A night-time camera trap recorded the daughter with her young, documenting a second generation of breeding females in Mae Kaew’s family.

Successful breeding depends on sufficient prey, secure habitat and limited disturbance. Mae Kaew’s repeated litters, followed by reproduction among her offspring, provide an example of those conditions supporting tigers within Thailand’s protected forests.

Camera traps track the wider population

The national survey involved the Khao Nang Ram Wildlife Research Station and the Dong Phaya Yen-Khao Yai Wildlife Research Station, alongside the Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF-Thailand, Panthera and the Freeland Foundation.

Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary held the largest number recorded in the survey, with 100 tigers. Another 25 were recorded in the eastern part of Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary and 15 in its western part. Tigers were also found in other forest complexes, including Kaeng Krachan-Kui Buri.

The population figures follow years of pressure from poaching, habitat loss and shortages of prey. Thailand signed the St Petersburg Declaration in 2010, committing to the international goal of doubling wild tiger numbers, and has since introduced two national tiger conservation action plans.

Protecting habitat and rebuilding prey

Conservation measures include the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool, known as SMART, which helps ranger patrols record field data, monitor threats and tackle poaching and other illegal activity.

WWF-Thailand and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation have also moved sambar deer and banteng into tiger habitats to strengthen prey populations. GPS collars and camera traps are used to monitor the animals’ movements and survival.

Community work forms another part of the effort. Rangers and WWF-Thailand staff use a musical initiative called the Big Cat Band to encourage wildlife protection and build relationships with nearby communities. Educational facilities at Khlong Lan National Park and Khlong Lan Kindergarten School give children hands-on opportunities to learn about tigers and forests.

Mae Kaew’s growing family illustrates how tiger conservation extends beyond protecting individual cats: maintaining prey, safeguarding forest habitat and sustaining breeding populations are closely connected.