Help Rangers Protect Endangered Cambodian Wildlife

Already 2022 has been a busy year for our rangers protecting wildlife in the Cardamoms. With the generous support of donors like you, between just January and April, rangers from 14 stations spread across the landscape patrolled almost 79,000 kilometers, removed more than 14,700 deadly snares from the forest, and rescued 147 live animals.

As with the sun bear rescue described in our previous report, some of the animals saved were removed directly from snares and would surely have died ensnared had our patrol teams not discovered them in time. Safely releasing frightened wild animals that are caught in hunting snares requires special tactics and patience to prevent injury. In mid-January, while conducting a long patrol, the Chhay Areng Patrol Unit found three common palm civets trapped in snares. The team spent 60 minutes carefully removing the civets from the snares. When the team searched the surrounding area, they found and removed a total of 520 snares. In March, during a long patrol the Trapeang Rung Patrol Unit found two wild boars in hunting snares. They were able to free the boars in 30 minutes. The team found a total of 68 snares in the surrounding area.

Net and bird traps also pose a threat to wildlife and the rangers removed over 2,000 meters of net traps during this period. During daily routine patrols the Koh Paor Patrol Unit rescued two turtles, a snake and a water dragon from net traps in February, and in April they rescued another two turtles from net traps. The wild animals were freed on site and the traps impounded. In March, the Chambak Patrol Unit confiscated 12 bird traps, rescued 8 unidentified wild birds and released them.

In addition to rescuing animals from unchecked snares and traps, rangers sometimes save animals already in the hands of hunters. In early March, the Stung Praot Patrol Unit was conducting a routine daily patrol inside a sugarcane area when they stopped a suspect riding a motorbike. Concealed underneath his jacket, the team found 12 unidentified wild birds that he had tied around his body to avoid being seen! The offender was arrested, brought to the Station, and paid a transactional fine of 1 million riel ($250 USD) in order to get back his motorbike. The birds were released the same day behind the Station. At the end of April, while patrolling along National Road 48, the Trapeang Rung Patrol Unit noticed a net bag abandoned on the road. The team checked and found a live Slow loris in the bag. Slow loris is an IUCN Red-Listed nocturnal primate. The animal was released back into natural habitat that same night.

Thank you so much for supporting our rangers’ work to protect Cambodian wildlife.