Two wheels for the wild

Bike Finder, a cycling group that has “creative friendship” as its motto, was back at Khao Yai National Park in Nakhon Nayok recently for its third eco-friendly activity that aims to encourage visitors to support the area’s flora and fauna.

Several other clubs, including Songlor and Yuwachon Rak Karn Pan clubs from Khorat, Mr V Bike from Nakhon Nayok, BID from Prachin Buri as well as We Ride For Fun took part in this year’s edition of the “Take Nature Back to Khao Yai”, spreading the word about the “4 Don’ts” to visitors to the area as well as making a salt lick.

A further “don’t” was added to the usual list of “4 Don’ts” – “Don’t Litter”, “Don’t Feed”, “Don’t Drive Fast” and “Don’t Make Noise” – “Don’t Leave Your Pets Behind”, a reference to the unwanted animals abandoned in the area.

“We’ve been running this campaign for four years and have enjoyed a good response from tourists. The number of animals dying in Khao Yai because of tourists has decreased, we’ve seen an increase in volunteers and, most importantly, the tourists are more eco-conscious. For example, we now get phone calls from tourists if an animal is injured or killed in a collision. That’s a good sign,” says Pattarapol Manee-on from the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.

“The ‘Don’t Litter’ campaign, in particular, has been effective and the amount of rubbish left behind in the park has diminished considerably,” adds Pattarapol, who is the country’s only wildlife veterinarian. 

“We organised an activity to exchange a gift from every 1 kilogram of waste collected on New Year’s Day. It was a great success.”

Pattarapol, who is more familiarly known as Doctor Lot, spoke to the cyclists about his experiences at the national park’s headquarters, which served as the starting point for the ride to the new salt lick.

The original idea to dig a new salt lick near the one completed last year was abandoned when a herd of more than 10 elephants was spotted wandering around the salt lick. 

The groups cycled on Pong Chom Rom Puen where they worked to create a new salt lick and covered it with salt, mineral powder and dicalcium phosphate.

Anyone interested in joining the group’s next eco-friendly activity should check out Facebook.com/BikeFinderAddFriends.