Hat Chao Mai National Park

Hat Chao Mai National Park อุทยานแห่งชาติ หาด เจ้า ไหม
Coordinates: 7 ° 25 '22.3 "  N , 99 ° 21' 1.9"  E
Location:	Trang , Thailand
Next city:	Trang
Surface:	231 km²
Founding:	October 14, 1981
Visitors:	66,840 (2010)
Address:	Ban Chang Lang, Mu 5, Tambon Mai Fad, Sikao District, Trang Province, Thailand 92150

The Hat Chao Mai National Park ( Thai : อุทยานแห่งชาติ หาด เจ้า ไหม ) is a national park in the southern region of Thailand .

The 401 km² park was opened in October 1981.

geography

Hat Chao Mai National Park is located in the northwest of Trang Province in Sikao District ( Amphoe ) . It consists of a large part of the Andaman Sea of about 137 km² and a slightly smaller land area of ​​about 94 km².

• The large part includes the mainland coast and a total of nine islands, from Ko Meng ( เกาะ เม ง ) on the northern border of the park, via Ko Chueak ( เกาะ เชือก ), Ko Pling ( เกาะ ปลิง ), Ko Waen ( เกาะ แหวน ), Ko Muk ( กาะ มุก ต์ ) down to Ko Kradan ( เกาะ กระดาน ) and Ko Cha Mai on the southern border of the park. The western border of the park runs between Ko Chueak and Ko Ngai , which is no longer part of the park. Underwater there are numerous coral reefs , making the islands a popular area for divers.
• The other part is on the mainland. It stretches from Chang Lang, a small fishing village on the coast, about 15 km inland to the Tambon Bo Nam Ron, where there is also a hot spring. In this part there are mainly rugged limestone cliffs and a few low mountains where rivers arise that merge to form the Khlong Bang Sak. The Khlong Bang Sak later flows into the Trang River. Between the mountains there are grass plains and rainforest , towards the coast mangrove forests and beach forest.

climate

Hat Chao Mai is influenced by the northeast and southwest monsoons, which bring a lot of rain for most of the year. Two seasons can be distinguished: the hot season lasts from January to April, while the rainy season extends from May to December. The mean temperatures in March and April are 35.2 ° C, the lowest temperatures of 21.2 ° C are measured in January and February. The relative humidity is 80% all year round. The mean amount of rain is put at 2187.3 mm. Most of the rain falls in September, averaging 158.8 mm.

Flora and fauna

Plant species

The vegetation can be divided into five groups:

• Rainforest - it is mainly on the mainland but also in the east of Ko Muk. Mainly wing fruit plants like Dipterocarpus chartaceous grow here , in between there are large areas with Burma grass ( Neyraudia reynaudiana , English: burma reed, silk reed), a grass with about 25 cm long leaves.
• Mixed forest - grows on the various islands, such as dragon trees ( Dracaena lourieri ) , date palm ( Phoenix paludosa ) and Euphorbia lacel . Orchids can also be found here.
• Beach Forest - Horsetail Cassuarine (Cassuarina equisetifolia)
• Mangrove forest - Rhizophora apiculata , Ceriops tagal and Xylocarpus granatum . On the side facing away from the lake, nipa palms ( Nypa fruticans ) and Heritiera littoralis can be found.
• Aquatic plants such as seaweed and seaweed.

Animal species

• Mammals on land: Capricornis sumatraensis , Presbytis melalophos , Muntiacus muntjak and Tragulus javanicus , the rare felis bengalensis and Aonyx cinerea are among the predators
• Mammals in the sea: The dugong ( Dugong dugon ) is rare in Thailand, it only occurs here in Trang. Therefore it is protected under the Washington Convention on the Protection of Species . He finds his food on the wide seagrass meadows off the coast.
• Birds: the park's unofficial heraldic animal is the almost extinct giant stork ( Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus ), which feeds on crabs and clams. In addition, 55 different bird species were spotted until 1990, including snipe birds , snow herons , spotted green thighs and amber terns .
• The Batagur tortoises , which are also threatened with extinction, are said to have been sighted by the reptiles here . There is also the dark tiger python and the reticulated python .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Website of the National Park Administration ( Memento of the original from May 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed October 15, 2013 

literature

• Vasa Sutthipibul, et al. (Ed.): National parks in Thailand. National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Bangkok 2006, ISBN 974-286087-4
• Denis Gray (inter alia): National Parks of Thailand . Communications Resources Ltd., Bangkok 1991, ISBN 974-88670-9-9

Web links

• Description of the national park Hat Chao Mai (in English)