Help Rangers Protect Endangered Cambodian Wildlife

The rangers your donations support have been hard at work this year, patrolling to ensure wildlife stays out of poachers’ hands and the Cardamom Rainforest remains standing. Patrols continued throughout the year despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. While the pandemic suspended many things, activities such as illegal logging, land encroachment and poaching persisted in Cambodia. But when faced with difficulties such as rangers having to quarantine, those from other stations stepped in to keep the forest safe – so we still achieved a lot!

Giving Tuesday is the perfect time to celebrate these results and pitch in a little more if you can because November 30 (from 00:01AM-11:59PM Eastern Time)all online donations to Help Rangers Protect Endangered Cambodian Wildlife will be matched from GlobalGiving’s $1 MILLION Incentive Fund!Our goal for this project is to raise $1,200 to pay all of the technology costs for the coming year for one of our 11 ranger stations.

This report offers highlights from the year and an overview of what we achieved with your support. Over the first 9 months of 2021, the rangers:

• Patrolled 149,492 kilometers
• Removed 19,039 snares
• Rescued 271 animals
• Seized 938 m3 of illegal timber and 1,211 chainsaws
• Arrested 122 offenders
• Submitted 151 cases to court

The hundreds of live animals rescued included Critically Endangered Sunda Pangolin and Elongated Tortoise, plus several Endangered Slow Loris. The rangers also removed over 19,000 deadly snares – saving thousands more animals from the illegal wildlife trade. Snares are usually made from simple materials such as nylon, rope, and natural materials and anchored in the landscape – once set any animal that steps on the snare and triggers it can become trapped.

One major success story came in January when rangers from Chhay Areng station found an adult Sun Bear with the tip of his foot caught in a snare. They immediately alerted our Care for Rescued Wildlife team, which drove across the country to reach the bear, treat his wounds and assess his health. His condition was excellent – the rangers must have found the lucky bear within 48-hours of being snared – so he was able to be immediately released back into the forest.

Sadly, the rangers don’t always make it in time to save wild lives. On occasions, rangers found animals dead in snares or intercepted shipments of wildlife parts, like the head of a rare Mainland Serow and 130 lbs. of bush meat destined for Phnom Penh. These cases are a stark reminder of the formidable scale of the illegal wildlife trade.

This year has also brought some major timber busts. In February, rangers from Rovieng station intercepted a 5-ton truck loaded with over 17m3 of timber inside Phnom Samkos wildlife sanctuary. The following month in Kirirom National Park, during a joint operation by three stations a truck transporting timber was detected. A chase ensued, during which the driver overturned the truck. Rangers arrested the driver and seized over 14.5m3 of rare timber! The Cardamoms is home to some 23 threatened tree species, including both Siamese and Burmese rosewood, which are prized for luxury furniture. Luxury timber from threatened species accounted for 46m3 of all illegal timber the rangers seized from Jan-September, and the seriousness of these crimes resulted in a number of sentences for offenders.

Finally, throughout the year rangers’ spotted signs of Asian elephant such as footprints, dung and – incredibly – placenta from a recently born calf nearby one of the stations! This confirms that these forest giants are breeding in the Cardamoms and the ranger patrols your donations support are effective.

Happy Giving Tuesday and thank you so much for helping to give wild animals in the Cardamoms the life they deserve – in the wild!