Laem Son National Park

{{Short description|National park in Thailand}}

{{Infobox Protected area

| name = Laem Son National Park

| alt_name =

| iucn_category = II

| photo = โขดหินริมหาดอุทยานแห่งชาติแหลมสน.JPG

| photo_caption =

| map = Thailand

| map_caption = Park location in Thailand

| map_width =

| relief = 1

| location = Ranong and Phangnga provinces, Thailand

| nearest_city = Ranong

| coordinates = {{coord|9.604|N|98.466|E|display=inline, title}}

| area_km2 = 315

| established = 1983

| visitation_num = 28,258

| visitation_year = 2019

| governing_body = Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation

| embedded = {{Designation list

| embed = yes

| designation1 = Ramsar

| designation1_offname = Kaper Estuary - Laemson Marine National Park - Kraburi Estuary

| designation1_date = 14 August 2002

| designation1_number = 1183{{Cite web|title=Kaper Estuary - Laemson Marine National Park - Kraburi Estuary|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1183|accessdate=16 July 2019}}}}

}}

File:Macaca fascicularis aurea using a stone tool - journal.pone.0072872.g002c.png on Piak Nam Yai Island using a stone tool]]

Laem Son National Park is located in Ranong and Phangnga provinces, Thailand. It is situated {{convert|60|km}} south of Ranong on the country's west coast,{{cite book|last=Braatz|first=Susan M.|title=Conserving biological diversity: a strategy for protected areas in the Asia-Pacific region|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_6AN1_TnZkQsC|accessdate=October 1, 2011|date=November 1992|publisher=World Bank Publications|isbn=978-0-8213-2307-6|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_6AN1_TnZkQsC/page/n71 57]–}}{{cite book|last=Hoskin|first=John|title=Thailand|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffYy_TxGkhAC&pg=PA109|accessdate=10 December 2011|date=October 2006|publisher=New Holland Publishers|isbn=978-1-84537-549-2|pages=109–}} with {{convert|100|km}} of Andaman Sea coastline, making it Thailand's longest protected shore.{{cite book|last=Williams|first=China|title=Thailand|url=https://archive.org/details/lonelyplanetthai00chin|url-access=registration|accessdate=10 December 2011|date=1 August 2009|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74179-157-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lonelyplanetthai00chin/page/638 638]–}} The marine national park is named after the pines along the cape's shore.{{cite book|last=Angell|first=James Burrill|title=Water is the Animal: Fin de Millenaire Reflections of Planet Earth from a Diplomatic Courier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQc9rkvQMt8C&pg=PA104|accessdate=10 December 2011|date=December 2000|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-15423-4|pages=104–}} It was established in 1983, and is 196,875 rai ~ {{convert|315|km2}} in size.{{cite web |url=https://catalog.dnp.go.th/dataset/areaofnp/resource/3b372140-f2bf-4811-8819-bb8a8b1a100a |title=ข้อมูลพื้นที่อุทยานแห่งชาติ ที่ประกาศในราชกิจจานุบกษา 133 แห่ง |date=December 2020 |department=Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation |language=Thai | trans-title=National Park Area Information published in the 133 Government Gazettes |access-date=1 November 2022 |postscript=, no 46}}

The NP is a coastal area with beaches, coral reefs, mangrove swamps, and a rainforest jungle. From the beach at Hat Bang Ben, some of the 20 offshore islands are visible, such as Ko Kam Yai, Ko Kam Noi, Mu Ko Yipun, Ko Khangkhao, and Ko Phayam, while Ko Kam Tok (alternate Ko Ao Khao Khwai) and Ko Kam Yai are not visible from this beach. The islands of Piak Nam Yai{{Cite journal | last1 = Haslam | first1 = M. | last2 = Gumert | first2 = M. D. | last3 = Biro | first3 = D. | last4 = Carvalho | first4 = S. | last5 = Malaivijitnond | first5 = S. | editor1-last = Noë | editor1-first = Ronald | title = Use-Wear Patterns on Wild Macaque Stone Tools Reveal Their Behavioural History | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0072872 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 8 | issue = 8 | pages = e72872 | year = 2013 | pmid = 23977365| pmc =3745380 | doi-access = free }} and Thao{{cite book|last1=Gumert|first1=Michael|last2=Fuentes|first2=Agustin|title=Monkeys on the Edge: Ecology and Management of Long-Tailed Macaques and Their Interface with Humans|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XCSwctd20LwC&pg=PA332|accessdate=10 December 2011|date=30 May 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-76433-9|pages=332–}} are noted for stone-tool usage by long-tailed macaques.{{cite journal|last=Malaivijitnond|first=S.|author2=Lekprayoon C |author3=Tandavanittj N |author4=Panha S |author5=Cheewatham C |author6=Hamada Y. |date=February 2007|title=Stone-tool usage by Thai long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis).|journal=Am J Primatol|volume=69|issue=2|pages=227–33|pmid=17146796|doi=10.1002/ajp.20342|s2cid=24117181}} In 2002, the Laemson National Park-Kapoe Estuary-Kra Buri River Estuary area became a designated Ramsar site.{{cite book|last1=Oh|first1= J.V.|last2=Ratner|first2=B.D.|last3=Bush|first3=S.R.|editor1=Kolandai, K. |editor2=Too, T.Y.|title=Westlands Governance in the Mekong Region|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fbK4YnkBcAcC&pg=PA152|accessdate=10 December 2011|date=September 2005|publisher=The WorldFish Center|isbn=978-983-2346-40-1|pages=152–}} Subsequent to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the park headquarters were flattened, and Ao Khao Khwai (Bull Horn Bay) was split into two small islands.{{cite book|last1=Meprasert|first1=Somrudee|author2=Oregon State University|title=The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: Tourism impacts and recovery progress in Thailand's marine national parks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BwJB6ufVUCgC&pg=PP17|accessdate=October 1, 2011|year=2006|isbn=978-0-542-96361-2|pages=17–}} A consortium of institutional partners are facilitating a mangrove restoration project at Laem Son.{{cite book|last1=Kallesøe|first1=Mikkel Franklin|last2=Bambaradeniya|first2=Channa|last3=Iftikhar|first3=Usman Ali |author4=Thushara Ranasinghe |author5=Sriyanie Miththapala|title=Linking coastal ecosystems and human well-being : learning from conceptual frameworks and empirical results|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3feMWChQvzYC&pg=PA31|accessdate=10 December 2011|year=2008|publisher=IUCN|isbn=978-955-8177-83-9|pages=31–}}