Forest rangers have started a search to save a three-legged tiger that was wounded while being hunted by poachers in Thailand.

The injured predator was spotted by wildlife charity Freedom feasting on the carcass of a water buffalo in Kho Laem National Park in Kanchanaburi province on February 6.

Its right hind leg was missing as it is believed to have been injured by poachers. It has since disappeared back into the dense jungle.

Niphon Chamnongsirisak, director of the Protected Area Regional Office 3 (Ban Pong) said: ‘The Freeland Foundation and the IUCN have agreed to catch this tiger and take it to safety.

‘Since it is handicapped, it might have difficulty hunting food in the wild.’

Officers hope to capture the beast using dead cows and buffalo as bait. They have installed the cameras in the jungle following a tiger attack in the same district in which a villager’s pet dogs were killed.

Five men were also previously arrested in the area early January for the possession of two tiger carcasses.