If opportunity permits, wild elephants can also be sighted. The Elephant Conservation and Protected Area Management project, led by Robert Dobias, identified 250 wild elephants during a survey in 1984-85. The number could be fewer now. Tiger sightings are also reported on occasion. As for birds, there are about 200 species, many of which can be spotted not far from the park office.
Great hornbills are the highlight.
Last year the park was packed with nature enthusiasts of a different kind. Thousands of people had gone there to observe the Leonids meteorite shower, which could best be enjoyed in an area where artificial city lights could not penetrate the night sky. The woodland is what remains of the area formerly called the Dong Phaya Yen forest, which separated the plateau of the Northeast from the Central Plains. Foot travellers and traders in the old days were said to fear for their safety, mindful of the threat from both wildlife and robbery by guerrillas. The area features a sandstone plateau, sloping gently toward the south and east, with elevations ranging between 600 and 1,000 metres.