In
1994, down a long dirt road in a generally remote,
forested area of Kanchanaburi, Phra Bhusit Khantitaro,
better known as Luang Ta Chan, decided to build a
temple. Regardless of his original intent, shortly
after establishing Wat Paluangtabua Yannasampanno,
Luang Ta Chan began to discover the true purpose of
the temple while collecting alms in a nearby village.
A
villager approached the monk, explaining that he had
discovered a wild chicken that had been injured. Although
it had only one eye and one leg, he did not want to
kill or eat the chicken so he asked the monk to take
it from him. Luang Ta Chan complied and brought the
injured fowl back to the Wat.
With
clearly animated glee, Luang Ta Chan recalled how
the chicken (a rooster) must have been a leader of
the wild chicken community. Following the call of
the injured rooster, dozens of other wild chickens
began to arrive. Soon they had all established residency
on the monastery grounds.
Shortly
thereafter, a cow, its hind-quarters pierced by a
hunter's spear, managed to drag itself by its front
legs to the incipient sanctuary. Likewise, a wild
boar, whose back was broken after being struck by
a car, found its way to the temple. The cow and boar
both recovered and found a home at Wat Paluang Yannasampanno.
As
the local community heard of the miraculous attraction
animals had for this sacred place, more people began
to send unwanted or injured animals to the temple
grounds. In one instance, a farmer, unable to maintain
his stock of cattle, gave them to the temple. Other
livestock were spared from going to the slaughterhouse
and released in the compound for merit making. Soon,
in addition to cows and chickens, the 438 rai (175
acre) land surrounding the Wat became the home to
over 2000 animals, including pigs, horse, deer, goats,
antelope, peacocks, gibbons, and a leopard.
Then,
in February 1999, tribal farm workers killed a mother
tiger that had been eating local livestock near the
Thai-Burmese border. They found her cub and reportedly
planned to kill and stuff the baby tiger. However,
because of a change in heart resulting from their
unsuccessful attempt to kill the cub, they brought
the injured tiger to the temple. Luang Ta Chan named
her Pa Yu (Thunderstorm), and attempted to nurse the
dying cub back to health. Unfortunately, her injuries
were too severe and Pa Yu died 5 months later. Luang
Ta Chan performed the burial ceremony and laid the
cub to rest beneath a banyan tree.
Over
the weeks and months following Pa Yu's death, more
injured or abandoned tiger cubs were brought to the
monastery. First, two male cubs were rescued from
poachers, then local villagers presented two others,
and finally border patrol officers saved four female
cubs to bring the tiger pride into balance.
Soon
the temple became known as the Wild Animal Rescue
Center and Tiger Conservation Project. A wall was
built around the compound to help protect the animals.
Within the walled sanctuary the majority of the animals
roam freely, while the tigers spend most of their
days in co-joined cages while they await the construction
of their own individually cordoned off section of
the sanctuary. Nevertheless, each afternoon at 4 p.m.
the monks release the tigers from their cages and
march them in single file to an isolated area of the
reserve. Here the tigers are free to exercise their
legs, roll in the dirt, and in general, behave like
their miniature cousins, house-cats; stretching out
upside down, yawning lazily, and playfully wrestling
with each other.
