Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia

Last month we celebrated World Elephant Day! Launched in 2012, this day was created to help raise awareness about the urgent plight of elephants in both Africa and Asia. Over the last decade, we have seen elephant populations drop by over 60%. In 2012 alone, 35,000 African elephants were slaughtered and it is estimated that 100 elephants are killed each day. The increasingly sophisticated and large-scale nature of the attacks indicates that elephants are being targeted by organized crime syndicates that use the funds to fuel corruption, terrorism and extremist movements. Over the past four years, the price of ivory on the black market has tripled in countries like China and Vietnam. To meet this demand, ivory is being shipped from Africa into various ports in Asia, and Cambodia is emerging as a new transport hub.

So far in 2014, there have already been three major seizures of ivory in Cambodia. The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT), which focuses much of its efforts on transboundary trafficking, is stepping up its activities to reverse this trend. As Cambodia’s national task force for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Wildlife Enforcement Network (ASEAN-WEN), the WRRT is also cooperating with member countries to coordinate efforts and identify ivory trade networks operating throughout the region. With elephant populations plummeting, the specialized operations that the WRRT conducts are essential to dismantling the international ivory trade.

Listed as Endangered by the IUCN, there are only 40,000 Asian elephants remaining. These remarkable creatures have the largest brains of any land mammal and are considered keystone species because they play a crucial ecological role in habitat formation and seed dispersal. Elephants are also known to be self-aware and altruistic animals that can express grief, compassion and can even recognize themselves in a mirror! Wildlife Alliance has been working to protect these giant herbivores in Cambodia since 2001. At the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center (PTWRC), we care for four rescued Asian elephants including Chhouk, the Asian elephant with a prosthetic foot. Chhouk was found as baby, wandering alone in the forest with a severe snare injury. After caring for him for two weeks in the forest and gaining his trust, we transported him to PTWRC and were able to heal his wounds. Since then, Chhouk has undergone extensive rehabilitation, receiving a prosthetic foot to help him grow up healthy and strong. Chhouk's story exemplifies the threats these animals face on a daily basis.

Help Wildlife Alliance continue to protect Asian elephants by making a donation today! Your gift will provide food, water and care for these magnificent creatures.

International Tiger Day, being celebrated this year on July 29, was established to promote public awareness and support for tiger conservation. The tiger is the world’s largest cat and is currently listed as Endangered by the IUCN. Just 100 years ago, there were as many as 100,000 wild tigers in Asia, but today, there are less than 3,000. In the last 80 years, three of the nine subspecies have gone extinct, and the futures of the other six remain dire.

Tigers once roamed the entire continent of Asia, but with human expansion they have lost over 93% of their original range. They now survive in small, isolated pockets of forest, where they are vulnerable to poaching and inbreeding. The primary threats facing tigers are habitat loss, depletion of prey species and poaching. As forests shrink and prey species become scarce, human-tiger conflict increases. And while there has been a ban on the international commercial trade of tigers since 1975, insufficient enforcement by the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has led to sustained poaching. The illegal trade of tiger parts remains a lucrative business, with their bones, meat and skin valued at around $70,000 on the black market. In China, Vietnam, Lao PDR and Thailand, captive breeding facilities have been allowed to proliferate with little oversight and regulation. These tiger farms contribute to the commercial trade of the tiger parts, while passing as conservation breeding facilities.

Globally, the plight of the tiger remains a pressing issue, and we are on the verge of losing this beautiful and iconic species. At Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center, we care for six tigers rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, and this year you can help make a difference by donating to help care for these rescued animals. You can also join the conservation on Facebook, Twitter and Buzzfeed, to learn more about these incredible animals and help spread the word!