Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia

by Wildlife Alliance
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Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia
Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia

Project Report | May 5, 2023
Clouded leopard cubs at Phnom Tamao!

By Nick Marx | Director of Wildlife Rescue, Care and Release

Bottle-feeding a clouded leopard cub
Bottle-feeding a clouded leopard cub

Having spent a large part of my life caring for and breeding carnivores, perhaps the highlight of the past quarter was the arrival of 2 female clouded leopard cubs, rescued by rangers from our Trapeang Roung patrol station in Koh Kong Province. They were around 3 weeks old when they arrived at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre in March. Our Nursery keepers have done an exemplary job caring for the youngsters, which are enthusiastic eaters as you can see in this video of them feeding! They are putting on weight and in early April started taking a little meat. Pairing clouded leopards can be tricky and the challenge for the future is finding a male for the girls, but it is still early days and for now the little ones’ survival is our focus.

During the first quarter of 2023, a total of 207 animals arrived at PTWRC, including: 81 pythons, 10 long-tailed macaques and 10 pig-tailed macaques, 2 silvered langurs, 1 black giant squirrel infant, 5 pileated gibbons, 3 leopard cats, 1 common palm civet, 1 gaur calf, 2 injured banteng, 6 pangolins, 2 muntjac fawns, 2 East Asian porcupines, 4 slow loris, 2 clouded leopard cubs, 1 wild rabbit, 1 monitor lizard, 2 iguanas, 24 crocodiles and 46 birds of different species, including hornbills, doves and raptors.

In addition, 31 animals were born at PTWRC, including 7 sambar deer, 5 muntjac, 1 Eld’s deer, 1 leopard cat. Wild pigs are making a come-back following the decimation caused by African swine fever last year and 15 more were born in the past quarter. 2 black-crowned night herons hatched in our aviaries as well.

More good news is that the Forestry Administration (FA) is allowing us to release animals once again. This is being conducted with greater formality than before, involving written requests, nonetheless it is a step in the right direction. In February we were given permission to open the enclosure door of a family of 6 silvered langurs, giving them access to the Phnom Tamao forest. They have remained in the vicinity of their old enclosure and return to take the food we continue to provide twice each day. Other animals released from PTWRC during the last 3 months include: 77 pythons, 15 young long-tailed macaques, 3 pangolins (1 released by FA in Siem Reap, 1 escaped at Phnom Tamao and 1 was hard-released at our Wildlife Release Station in Koh Kong), 5 sambar, 1 Eld’s deer and 1 wild rabbit. 69 birds were also released, including doves, mynahs and water fowl. Most of the birds were released at Phnom Tamao, although we took 2 wreathed hornbills, who had been hand-raised in the Nursery, to Angkor where they are currently acclimatizing in preparation for release.

We have received many pangolins at PTWRC recently, with 6 arriving from January-March. The most interesting was the January arrival of a group of 3, consisting of a male, a female and her very tiny baby. The golden rule when caring for mothers of any species with new babies is to leave them alone. Mum knows what she is doing and any pointless interference from humans will probably only result in the death of the infant. Following a traumatic capture in the forest and subsequent rescue, which is often sufficient to kill many animals, I was certain that, at the very least, the baby pangolin would die. In the early days, Nursery keepers, Pisei, Ran and Par kept all contact to a minimum, just making sure that the new arrivals received sufficient termites and ants each day. The baby is still with us, he has grown well, is now eating an adult diet and is no longer so reliant on his mother for milk. Once he is old enough, we will request permission to take the 3 pangolins to our release station in Koh Kong.

Long-tailed macaques continue to arrive at Phnom Tamao with monotonous frequency. These are usually tame, which raises concerns about their future, as we cannot keep them all and releasing tame macaques can be problematical. However, we have been caring for 15 wild caught infants. In late January, we transferred them to the Wildlife Release Station to commence rehabilitation prior to release when we consider it is appropriate.

The generosity of donors like you gives us the resources to provide care for all the rescued animals that arrive at Phnom Tamao, including round-the-clock feedings for baby animals like our new cloudie cubs. Thank you so much for your support.

Clouded leopard cubs
Clouded leopard cubs
Keeper, Par, feeding muntjac fawn
Keeper, Par, feeding muntjac fawn
Released langurs in Phnom Tamao forest
Released langurs in Phnom Tamao forest
Baby pangolin with mother
Baby pangolin with mother

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Organization Information

Wildlife Alliance

Location: New York, NY - USA
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Twitter: @WildlifeRescue
Project Leader:
Elisabeth Gish
Phnom Penh , Cambodia
$188,262 raised of $225,000 goal
 
2,369 donations
$36,738 to go
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