An emaciated wild tiger was seen wandering through a village to search for food in central Thailand.

The rare predator sparked alarm when drivers spotted it ambling along a rural road in Kamphaeng Phet province on February 16.

It disappeared into a nearby forest, and wildlife authorities launched a search fearing it might enter a house and harm residents.

They found the tiger wandering the woods, but deferred capturing it until the next morning due to poor visibility.

Surachai Photkhamanee, chief of the Khlong Lan National Park near the village, and World Wildlife Fund personnel stayed in the village overnight to monitor the tiger.

Officers finally captured the wild cat on February 19, tranquilising it while it was munching on a meat left out as bait.

The skeletal female tiger was around 5ft long, weighed around 90 kilogrammes, and was believed to be around two years old.

It had a swollen and wounded left paw, and pale pink mucous membranes that indicated possible illness. It was transported to the Huay Kha Khaeng wildlife breeding station for recovery.

Surachai said: 'The tiger was a wild tiger, not domesticated. It likely came from the Mae Wong National Park and it might be the same tiger that had been spotted at the Mogoju Noi area nearby before.'

Once it has regained its strength, the tiger will be released back into the forest with a collar to monitor its movements.

In 2022, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation reported that there were six mature male tigers, eight mature females, and two tiger cubs in the Mae Wong National Park.

They added the number of tigers was likely to increase.

There are approximately 148 to 189 mature tigers in Thailand, with signs that the population is increasing in Thailand's Western Forest Complex.