Help Rangers Protect Endangered Cambodian Wildlife

 On April 10, 2014, an undercover operation conducted by Wildlife Alliance’s forest patrol unit led to the confiscation of 22 logs of luxury timber. For three days, the Assistant Supervisor of Sre Ambel Station posed as a timber trader to gain insider information on an upcoming shipment of illegal timber. While following an intermediary trader, he discovered the stash of illegal timber ready to be transported. He immediately called the Station Supervisor, and the patrol team arrived late at night, just as the drivers began to haul the timber away. The offenders did everything they could to prevent the patrol team from confiscating the illegal timber. To intimidate the officers, the traders opened fire at the patrol unit, and a shoot-out ensued in the darkness. However, the team persevered and was able to confiscate the two trucks containing the illegal wood and drove the evidence back to the station. The team pursued the traders but was unable to catch them as they were heavily armed and able to slip into the forest cover.

The Southern Cardamom Forest Protection Program forest rangers work day and night, risking their lives to protect the forest. Last year alone, the rangers removed 13,474 snares, confiscated 8,369 cubic feet of illegal timber and rescued 448 animals. Right now, the team is in urgent need of a new vehicle in order to continue their operations. The truck, which would cost $30,000, would allow them to continue to patrol over the 1.7 million acres of forest in the Southern Cardamoms. Help these rangers continue to protect the Southern Cardamom Mountain Range and its wildlife!