By Nick Marx | Director, Wildlife Rescue & Care Program
Our project to reintroduce wild animals into Angkor Archeological Park progresses well. Previously released gibbons and hornbills are well. And the past quarter was quite eventful as we brought more otters from Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre (PTWRC) to begin acclimatization, released the peafowl and hornbills, and gave a fourth pileated gibbon pair their freedom!
In November, we transferred 2 young female smooth-coated otters, born at PTWRC, into a new acclimatization cage constructed inside the large enclosure from which we previously released red muntjac and otters. Initially there was little contact from the 3 otters already released, but gradually the residents started taking an interest in the new arrivals. We have seen no aggression between the two groups, which bodes well for the day when we open the cage door. The young females have had very little contact with people and are wary – a good sign.
The Reintroduction Project Manager, Bunthoeun, and I felt that the great and wreathed hornbills and green peafowl that have been acclimatizing since May 2021 were ready for release, particularly as the great hornbills became very stressed whenever people approached their enclosure. On December 23 we opened the trap doors high on the sides of the two enclosures for the hornbills to leave and opened the main doors for the peafowl to make their exit. Gradually all the birds left. As always, we continue to place food for them, in baskets high in the surrounding trees for the hornbills and on the ground for the peafowl. They return singly to feed, but it does not look like they all come back every day, so to some extent they must be finding their own food in the forest. Now and again we receive reports of a wreathed or great hornbill flying over Angkor Wat and the peafowl are sometimes seen from the road. All has gone well so far. The day after the birds’ release the Angkor Centre for the Conservation of Biodiversity brought another 4 green peafowl bred at their Centre for release. These peafowl were extremely nervous and would have fared poorly inside an enclosure. We hard-released them at Lake Santamea, a wild and less visited site within Angkor Thom. They left immediately and have not been seen again, although peafowl calls are now heard from time to time in the forest.
We recaptured Ping-peeung, the first gibbon to be born in Angkor and now adult, one year ago when she left her parents, Baray and Saranick, and entered a village. We placed her in a release enclosure at Takao Gate with male Bakheng, who had been transferred from PTWRC, and the two settled down well together. It was time for Ping-peeung to have another chance at life in the forest, so on December 23 we opened the enclosure door. She left almost immediately, but Bakheng, having been born in captivity, was extremely hesitant. He left the enclosure through the roof trap door, only to return again almost immediately. We placed food outside the enclosure, adjacent to the roof. Bakheng went to feed, but quickly re-entered the cage once he had eaten. This went on for days. Ping-peeung loitered around in the branches above, clearly waiting for the much younger male to join her. How sweet! But she also travelled and the keepers did not see her at feed time on some days, which caused us a little concern. Would she get bored and travel outside the forest again in search of another mate? Bakheng was clearly apprehensive and also uncertain of his own abilities in the trees – a skill that can only come with practice. I am always a little apprehensive when we release the animals we have been caring for, as many things can go wrong. When we first released Tevy, also born in a cage at PTWRC, she was travelling through the branches in Angkor when one she was swinging on broke and she plummeted earthwards. Had she not grabbed a small sapling one meter before she hit the ground, broken bones were a certainty! I need not have worried for Bakheng. He finally left the enclosure to join Ping-peeung in the tree tops and he is getting around fine.
Check out footage from these bird and gibbon releases here. With great hornbills, wreathed hornbills, green peafowl, and a fourth pair of Endangered pileated gibbons now enjoying the freedom of the forest in Angkor, 2022 is off to an excellent start! Your generous donations make it possible to rebuild wildlife populations in Angkor, a long-term endeavor that will have enduring impacts. Thank you so much for your support.
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