Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia

Following months of heavy rains, the pleasant cooler weather that precedes dry season here in Cambodia finally seems to be upon us and the cycle of life, from birth to release, continues for the animals your donations support at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre.

Our Main Lake is now full to the brim and the lesser whistling ducks released earlier in the year are enjoying the bonanza. The Eld’s deer born at the Centre through our Endangered species captive breeding program have produced several wild-born offspring since their release. The deer are not so happy as the birds are with the rise in water level because it means they cannot graze on the sweet grass they have access to as the Lake dries up, but this will happen again soon enough.

In October, we gave four Endangered mainland serow their freedom in the Phnom Tamao Protected Forest surrounding the Centre. We continue to put down supplementary food for them and still see them all quite regularly.

The four orphaned baby douc langurs we told you about in the previous report are all well and have made the transition into a large enclosure built for them in the elephant section. Elephant keepers, Vok and Sol, who did such a great job with their round-the-clock bottle feeds in the early days continue to look after them and the babies no longer need to come indoors at night-time.

Finally, we celebrated another happy event early in December when our female gaur, born at the Centre in 2016, gave birth to her first calf. The father is a young male the Nursery keepers hand raised following his rescue as a tiny calf in 2017. He had been caught in a snare and it was only the keepers’ dedicated care that ensured his survival. The new arrival at the end of this year was a pleasant surprise as the bull is much younger than the female and we did not expect babies quite so soon. We are not allowing the father access to his young son “just in case”. The young calf is doing very well.

Thank you for your donations – they have been especially critical this year because COVID-19 travel bans have virtually eliminated income from our Behind The Scenes tours of the Centre, which previously paid a significant portion of the monthly animal food bill and keepers’ salaries. Without your support, it would be considerably more difficult to feed and care for our lifelong residents that unfortunately can never be safely released, all the newly rescued wildlife that arrives each month, and the baby animals born at the Centre.

Happy holidays and best wishes for a New Year as refreshing as the new lease on life you help to give Cambodia’s rescued wildlife.

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre (PTWRC) does not specialize in any one species, but rather must care for a complete cross section of whatever wildlife is rescued from the illegal trade in Cambodia. Each year we receive around 2,000 rescued animals that cannot be immediately returned to the wild. Many of these are babies, and with limited funds we must do our best to cater for the individual needs of each species. Recently there has been a spate of black-shanked douc langurs, a very beautiful and Critically Endangered primate, which previously we very seldom received at PTWRC. Over the same period, many macaques, which are an extremely common species, were also rescued.

As standard practice, infant animals are always taken to our Baby Nursery and our keepers do an outstanding job, administering the necessary 24-hour care. Species cared for include many different kinds of fledgling birds and baby mammals, including deer, small carnivores, primates and rodents. Three infant doucs were rescued by our Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) in February 2020. However, the first two doucs suffered from fits and died a few days after rescue. Previously, we lost a couple of silvered langurs in a similar manner. At first I thought that it was the fault of our keepers. However, on investigating further and considering the symptoms, I suspected the langurs had contracted the Herpes virus. This disease is endemic in yet harmless to macaques, but can affect other primates more seriously. Although infant langurs and macaques are never kept together, I made a point of ensuring greater separation in the care of langurs and macaques, particularly concerning feeding utensils and caging. The third infant douc arrived later in February than the others and upon her arrival we decided that instead of caring for her in the Nursery she would be taken to the Elephant Section, far away from any macaques, to be looked after by two of our elephant keepers. Most zoos and rescue centres have difficulty hand raising baby douc langurs and we had never successfully raised this species before, so there seemed little to lose. Elephant keepers Sol and Vok shared the duties of the feeds every two hours for little You-bie and unlike our previous doucs, she has thrived!

During May and June 2020, another three infant douc langurs arrived at PTWRC. Like You-bie, all were sick and malnourished when they arrived, all were transferred to the Elephant section for care, and all have steadily gained weight and done well when isolated from all other species. Black-shanked douc langurs are extremely rare and it is important that rescued doucs survive. They appear not to do well in captivity. However, species are different and each has different requirements and sensitivities. It is important to pay attention to the correct diet – langurs are primarily leaf-eaters – and susceptibility to specific diseases. We have removed the possibility of infection from other primates, our douc langurs are doing very well now, and we are hopeful that we have finally solved the mystery of how to successfully hand-raise this rare and sensitive species. As a GlobalGiving donor who helps us care for rescued animals in Cambodia, your contributions enable us cover the unpredictable costs, and solve the challenges, that arise when new animals arrive at PTWRC.

Links:

• Video of baby douc langur care at PTWRC