Animals endangered or under protection

• tigers: there are still about 150 tigers; they will probably extinguish during next two decades
• gibbons: under protection; often used to attract tourists on the streets; special reintroduction centers are organized
• extinguished recently: rhinoceros and forest buffalos

Poisonous species

• snakes: many very dangerous species; bites can be mortal; live on the ground, in the trees, in the water; some are aggressive
• diving: some snakes are poisonous, also jelly fishes, some fishes attack divers also; the level of danger is very low
• king cobra: the biggest snake of Thailand, up to 6m long, extremely dangerous
• spiders and scorpions: not dangerous; centipedes marks: painful but not harmful

For more information about poisonous snakes visit: Thailand Snakes.

Other common species

• innumerous species of ants
• mosquitoes: nets in the houses in the windows, doors, around beds; low risk of malaria
• lizards in the forests are not dangerous

The rubber tree

• 95% of rubber world production comes from Asia, 75% of it from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia
• gum tree comes originally from Brazil; in Amazon achieve 30m high
• trees are used 20 to 30 years; white, sticky resin from slanting cuts on the bark, a small container, usually the coconut, attached below the cuts

Durian and khanoon

• similarities: bigger than pineapple or melon, smaller than water-melon; rugged surface, irregular, oval shape; contain several dozen grains; flesh is eatable; grow everywhere in South-East Asia
• khanoon: very good taste
• durian: fruit texture is much spinier, the durian smell is horrible