Wildlife Watch App Launches

Wildlife Alliance is pleased to announce the launch of our first iPhone app, Wildlife Watch Cambodia in conjunction with our partners: Trigger LLC, Jeff Corwin Connect, and TRAFFIC

Traveling to Cambodia?  Want to help stop illegal wildlife trafficking?  Interested in learning more about Southeast Asia’s incredible flora and fauna?  Download the Wildlife Watch app today!

  
Wildlife Watch Cambodia provides people the opportunity to learn more about Southeast Asia’s heavily traded animal species through photos, background information, and English and local market names to help identify wildlife for sale.  Users can watch informational videos with Jeff Corwin and add animal pictures to the database.  It allows users to view and add to an interactive map of wildlife trafficking hotspots throughout the country, and also gives users the opportunity to join in the fight to stop the illegal wildlife trade through incident reports that are sent directly to our Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team.  The team can then take immediate action to stop traffickers and sellers of wildlife and wildlife parts.  Since 2001, Wildlife Alliance has been working tirelessly to end wildlife trafficking in Southeast Asia.  Help us win the fight.  Download the app today!

Visit the iTunes store to download.

Wildlife Alliance would like to express our extreme gratitude to Trigger LLC, Jeff Corwin Connect, and TRAFFIC for developing this much needed app.

Successful Event at Sharky's!

Thanks to our incredible auctioneers!After two nights of boogying to some good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll and an all-girl punk band, Wildlife Alliance exhaustedly celebrated the success of the second “Welcome to the Jungle” fundraiser at Sharky Bar in Phnom Penh.  10 lucky folks went home winners after Saturday and Sunday’s events, taking home fantastic raffle prizes, and Wildlife Alliance raised considerable funds towards the building of a new baby animal nursery at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center.

Wildlife Alliance would like to thank the hundreds of people that packed Sharky Bar, turning out to have some fun while supporting a great cause – baby animals!  It was an incredible display of generosity from the numerous local businesses in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville, and even as far as New York, who donated fantastic raffle and auction prizes, from our host Sharky Bar, and of course from those who took the effort to come down and help us have a great time, listen to great music, win great prizes and support a great cause!WRRT member Say Soy won a picture by our very own resident elephant artist, Lucky

All of the money raised over the weekend event will go to build a new nursery to care for young animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade that are being cared for at Phnom Tamao, a rescue center and sanctuary for over 1,200 animals victimized by the illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia and across the region.

Patrons arrived all through the night and found themselves greeted by a serving staff dressed up as wildlife. Raffle tickets flew as the night wore on – thanks in part to Adidas who sponsored 300 $25 gift vouchers to their stores in Cambodia – while the crowd packed the bar. Both nights, around 10:00pm, Sharky Bar owner Mike Hsu, along with Entertainment Manager Ross Hounslow, and Emcee and Auctioneer of the evening Curran Hendry, took to the stage to read off the winning raffle numbers and ten lucky supporters went home with great prize packages ranging from hotel stays in Sihanoukville, dinner and cocktails, spa packages, cooking classes and more, followed by a lively auction. The evening kept going strong to the sounds of a stellar set of Rolling Stones covers performed by Stoned Again.

Let’s rock!A specials thanks goes out to Adidas, Betel Nut Tours, Cambodia Country Club, Cantina, Carlsberg Beer, Community-Based Ecotourism at Chi Phat, EcoSea Dive, Equinox, French Element, Flotsam and Jetsam New York, Frizz Cooking School, Independence Hotel Sihanoukville, Java Café & Gallery, Jeff Brosk, Jesus Torres of U5 Enterprises, Kroma Yoga, La Croisette, La Residence, Nathan Horton Photography, Metro, Monument Books, Nataraj Yoga, Nike’s Pizza House, Raffles Le Royal Hotel, Rahu, Sokha Angkor Hotel, Spa Bliss, Tips & Toes, Toby Old Photography, and the Warehouse for their generous support and assistance. We would also like to thank our amazing friends at Sharky Bar for their hard work and longstanding support of Wildlife Alliance and for throwing a great party to help preserve a special segment of Cambodia’s natural heritage.

Suwanna's Blog -- New Adventures: Elephant Encounter

I had a memorable encounter last Saturday as I went into the forest after a wild elephant…and found myself face-to-face with him.  I literally bumped into him; he was just 1 meter away behind a tree.  Oh boy. He started blowing air loudly to stop me from bumping into him, that’s when I saw how BIG he was. I of course stopped and turned around immediately and walked back as quickly as I could, but then he started walking right behind me…faster and faster.  I was really frightened that he was going to trample me.  But one of our MPs dashed in to save the damsel in distress.  I was promptly lifted above the branches and tree stumps and arrived at the road unharmed.  We stopped.  The elephant also stopped. He was three meters away.  I took great CLOSE-UP photos.  What a beautiful animal!  Then I relaxed and started taking to him, saying, “How are you baby,” and other nonsense talk.  But he did not like that one bit and started running straight at me again.  This time, I ran as fast as I could back to the car and stayed inside. 

Hours before, he had just appeared out of the forest in a village in Kandal commune.  Villagers started giving him bananas thinking he was gentle.  He chomped on the bananas, but when they stopped giving him treats, he became aggressive because he wanted more.  Our patrol units arrived quickly on-site to diffuse the crowd, separate the elephant from people and push him back into the forest.  The unit conducted awareness sessions, explaining dos and don’ts to the villagers.  But the next day he killed a cow.  The villagers should not have tethered the poor cow; she probably tried to escape the elephant and strangled herself on her chord.  Many elephants have been coming out of the forest since last October.  I have now counted 85 elephant encounters.

Welcome to the Jungle 2 Fundraiser for Wildlife

Help Us Build a New Baby Nursery at Phnom Tamao!

Friday April 27 & Saturday April 28 at Sharky Bar in Phnom Penh

Join Wildlife Alliance for an exciting Wildlife Weekend hosted by Sharky Bar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday, April 27 and Saturday, April 28.  Featuring live music, fabulous raffle prizes and auction items, and merriment and fun, all proceeds will go to help Wildlife Alliance construct a new baby nursery at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center and to help these vulnerable animals have a chance at survival. 

Rolling Stones cover band, Stoned Again, will headline the event on Friday and Saturday with special guests The Herding Cats, on Friday, April 27 and featuring Curtis King and special guests the Teaner Turners on Saturday, April 28.

Exciting raffle prizes and auction items include stays for two at Independence Hotel in Sihanoukville and Sokha Angkor Resort in Siem Reap, a Cambodian Country Club membership, a First Aid and CPR class for 10 with Cori Parks, vouchers from Adidas, dinners and drinks at Phnom Penh’s most popular restaurants, Australian and French wines, massages and other spa treatments, and jewelry and art from some of New York’s top artists, and so much more!

Raffle tickets are $1 and if you buy 10 tickets, you will receive a $25 Adidas voucher and 1 free Carlsberg draught.  100% of proceeds will go towards the construction of a baby animal nursery.  The more raffle tickets you buy, the more chances you have to win one of these great prizes and the more support you give to Cambodia’s wildlife.  We’re working towards a goal of $7,500 and for those of you who can’t attend, you can help us reach that goal by donating online (choose ‘Care for Rescued Wildlife’ and make a note you’d like the money to go towards the baby nursery) or calling our New York office at 646-495-3188 for more options.

Click below for more information on all of our incredible sponsors.

ADIDAS – discount vouchers: www.adidas.com

BETEL NUT TOURS – Tour to Phnom Tamao: www.betelnuttours.com

CANTINA - $20 gift certificate:  www.cantinacambodia.com

CAMBODIAN COUNTRY CLUB - Membership: www.cambodian-country-club.com

CBET - 2 nights accommodation with breakfast in our eco-lodge, sunset dinner cruise, and traditional night lobster fishing for 2 guests: www.ecoadventurecambodia.com

CORI PARKS – First Aid and CPR class for 10 people: lifestylecori_ography@yahoo.com

CURTIS KING BAND (headlining band): www.curtiskinglive.com

ECOSEADIVE – A PADI Open Water Certification Course and one night stay on Koh Rung Saloem: www.ecoseadive.com

EQUINOX - $20 voucher for drinks: www.equinox-cambodia.com

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM NEW YORK - Solong Monkey Bronze Pendant with Bronze Chain and a pair of 22K gold earrings: www.flotsamandjetsamny.com

FRENCH ELEMENT - Voucher for Haircut Package, Manicure or Pedicure: www.thefrenchelement.com

FRIZZ RESTAURANT – Full day Khmer cooking class: www.cambodia-cooking-class.com

INDEPENDENCE HOTEL – Five vouchers for Deluxe Room and breakfast for two guests for two nights: www.independencehotel.net

JAVA CAFÉ AND GALLERY – Dinner for Two: www.javaarts.org

JEFFREY BROSK FINE ART STUDIO – wood sculptures: www.jeffbrosk.com

NATARAJ YOGA - a pass for five yoga classes: www.yogacambodia.com / KRAMA YOGA:  www.yogacambodia.com

NIKE’S PIZZA -  One large Pizza: #160 Street 63, Phnom Penh

METRO - $50 gift certificate: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Metro/171006866281109#!/pages/Metro/171006866281109?sk=info

MONUMENT BOOKS - $25 gift certificate: www.monument-books.com

NATHAN HORTON PHOTOGRAPHY - Photo Tour Weekend AND a print:  www.nathanhortonphotography.com

RAFFLES HOTEL LE ROYAL – Brunch for two:  www.raffles.com/phnom-penh

RAHU - $50 gift certificate: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Metro-Rahu/197673183615390

SHARKY BAR: www.sharkysofcambodia.com

SOKHA ANGKOR RESORT SIEM REAP – 2 Nights in Club Suite plus breakfast for two guests: www.sokhahotels.com/siemreap

SPA BLISS – Two gift certificates for massage: www.blissspacambodia.com

THE WAREHOUSE – 6 bottles of wine : http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Warehouse-Phnom-Penh/121793311211865

TIPS & TOES – Spa Manicure and Pedicure: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tips-Toes-Nail-Care-Spa/158449144251498

TOBY OLD PHOTOGRAPHY – Various prints: www.tobyold.com

Major Reptile Rescue in Kampong Thom Province

On February 17^th, WRRT teams—with the cooperation of Forest Administration staff, Military police, and local court officials—conducted a large successful mission at a trading operation in Stung Sen City in Kampong Thom Province.  The traders tried to remove their live evidence from the rear of the house but were surrounded by the WRRT teams. A search of the house yielded a large number of illegal wildlife: 32 snail-eating turtles (IUCN-Vulnerable), 19 tortoises, 2 king cobras, 1 python, and 8 rat snakes.  The rescued reptiles were either released into the wild or taken to PTWRC, while the trader is now facing charges in the Kampong Thom Provincial Court.

Reptiles compose a large portion of the Asian illegal wildlife trade targeted by the WRRT.  Both snakes and turtles are used locally for food and traditional medicines. In Western society, trafficked reptiles frequently end up as pets or in ‘luxury’ leather accessories.  You can decrease the demand for smuggled reptiles by refraining from purchasing snakeskin or tortoiseshell products, and reptilian pets that may have been illegally obtained.  You can help the WRRT to combat the illegal trafficking of replites and other wildlife by visiting our donation page and choosing Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team.

NEW VIDEO: Clinic for Baby Animals at Phnom Tamao

Our Care for Rescued Wildlife team does an incredible job of caring for the animals Wildlife Alliance rescues from the illegal wildlife trade – the most vulnerable of which are the babies, especially those that have lost their mothers or been separated from their family groups.  So far, our track record in nurturing baby animals is good – but it can be better.  Animals like Chhouk – who was just a baby and missing a leg when we found him in the forest – can survive and even thrive under the expert care of our team.  But the facilities we currently have are sorely lacking when one considers the level of care that is necessary to ensure the survival of these most defenseless victims of wildlife trafficking.  Watch the video below to see what Wildlife Alliance does to help these and all the animals at Phnom Tamao against great odds and click here and choose Care for Rescued Wildlife to help us do this important work.

Action at Sre Ambel Station

One of the most important elements of Wildlife Alliance’s approach to conservation is dedicated forest protection.  The forest patrol stations operated by Wildlife Alliance in the Southern Cardamom Mountain Range work day and night to prevent illegal activities, including wildlife poaching.  This past month the Sre Ambel station, in the foothills of the Cardamoms, was the base for several poacher pursuits.  On February 24^th, a WA informant called the ranger station concerning a trader transporting a bear cub towards the border.  The Sre Ambel rangers pursued the trader’s car for 20 miles along the main road, at which point the trader threw a large black bag out of his car into the road.  The rangers stopped to investigate the contents of the bag and discovered a dead year-old sun bear cub. They soon after found the trader’s car, abandoned on the side of the road.

Another informant tip to the station a week earlier on February 13^th led to a considerably more positive and successful operation. The Sre Ambel patrol unit chased another wildlife trafficker on his way to Vietnam. The trader avoided capture and abandoned his car, but the unit was able to rescued 13 bagged macaques. The rangers successfully released the two macaque families into the forest near Kraing Ath village.  Help our rangers to always be at the ready by clicking here and choosing Forest Protection.

Seminar with DHL on Wildlife Trafficking

On Saturday, February 25, Wildlife Alliance’s Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team and Kouprey Express hosted a seminar on wildlife smuggling at DHL’s Cambodia headquarters.  Representatives from shipping and logistics companies CTSI/UPS, FedEx, Linehaul Express, ABL Cambodia, AEW, EMS, and both DHL Express and DHL Logistics spent the day learning how they can play a part in halting the wildlife trade.  Topics included Cambodia’s wildlife laws, common methods of smuggling, CITES, proper documentation, shipping protocol, and wildlife species and wildlife parts identification.  Mr. Khem Vuthyravong, Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team Project Manager, and Mr. Heng Kim Chhay, Forestry Administration Officer and member of the WRRT, showed participants samples of wildlife specimens that are commonly found in shipments and delineated what to look for during inspections.  Each participant received a species ID manual provided by the Kouprey Express team for them to use in their offices.  The seminar was very well-received and Wildlife Alliance gained important logistical allies in our effort to combat illegal wildlife trafficking and trade.

NEW VIDEO: Elephant on the Road

As previously reported, elephant sightings in the Southern Cardamoms have been on the rise in the past several months.  In January, an adolescent male began appearing every day on an access road to a sugar cane plantation.  The situation between the elephant and the workers escalated and remained tense for two weeks, while Wildlife Alliance forest patrollers managed the situation and protected the elephant.  For a detailed report, check out January’s newsletter and for previous reports on elephant sightings, click here and here.  Watch the video below to see how and why this elephant visited the road every day and the fantastic job our forest patrollers did in moderating this tense situation.

52 Weeks to Save the Cardamoms: Suwanna's Blog--Week 3

This is a series in which Suwanna Gauntlett, Founder and CEO of Wildlife Alliance, tries to push forward new legislation that will provide protection for 1 million acres of rainforest in the Southern Cardamoms. We are now in our third week out of 52 weeks.

Suwanna presents a magazine to the Vice Prime Minister with maps and photos that highlight the urgent need for the new Protected Forest legislation After debates between pro-development and pro-conservation agencies reached a screeching halt last week, it seems that the idea of a new Protected Forest is facing greater obstacles than anticipated.  The project could even be indefinitely delayed…. if we don’t find greater leverage to move it forward.

We absolutely need a breakthrough to get us over this difficult situation.  Resistance to the proposed sub-decree has come mainly from the pro-development Licensing Office.

I have become quite familiar with this agency over the past years.  I know the officers, I am accustomed to their economic justifications for converting rainforest to agro-industrial plantations and I have witnessed over time an unwavering drive to process commercial requests. But nevertheless, there is mutual respect. They know me well, they see me as a strong woman and they let me carry on with my activities to keep the rainforest standing.  But now a page has been turned and we are all in a new, tenser situation. We have proposed Protected Forest legislation.  Future economic gains are at stake. If a protection sub-decree were to be passed, no more requests for rainforest land would be allowed, depriving some people from hefty revenues. The fight is going to be different now….

That’s why it is crucial to find a way as soon as possible to rally support from someone above the Licensing Office.  But who?  We focused on this issue completely for an entire day with the whole Southern Cardamom program team. We started brainstorming and problem-solving right after the agencies’ debate had ended last week.  We had a deck of cards in our hands that we had not yet fully analyzed: 33 requests for land in the Southern Cardamoms by large-scale industrial companies over the last 9 years had been either avoided, rejected, reduced or their permits cancelled.  At Wildlife Alliance we had written our share of letters and taken our share of meetings with government officials to prevent these companies from coming into the Cardamoms and destroying vast stretches of rainforest. At all levels of government, officers had weighed in, putting time and effort to over the years to disallow unjustifiable permits in the middle of “dense evergreen forest”  that would also damage the hydrology system of the watershed.

So, the team reviewed one by one all of the 33 requests for Southern Cardamom rainforest land that had been submitted by commercial companies since 2004. We looked at whether the applications had been submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries or to the Council of Ministers or directly to the Prime Minister’s cabinet. We tried to recall who exactly had worked on these cases and had been instrumental in obtaining rejection of those company requests. We listed all the officers that had played a key role and had been influential over the years. In this process, we found that the highest ranking and most forthcoming official had been the Vice Prime Minister. Could he be the person that we were searching for?  Would he have the power and the drive to make things happen and move the idea of a new Protected Forest towards approval? Whatever happened, we had to try.

So we immediately contacted the Vice Prime Minister’s cabinet and requested a meeting to present the proposed legislation. Obtaining time for an appointment at this level of government can sometimes take months but we prepared to be ready within just a few days.  The team and I carefully planned our presentation strategy on how to present the topic by making the message the most compelling and creating the most positive impression - while at the same time remaining brief.

I was delighted to receive confirmation of our appointment from the cabinet just five days after we placed our request.  His Excellency welcomed us the very next day and the meeting was cordial and upbeat. We started by reminiscing about his visit to the Southern Cardamoms last year, where we had visited the titanium mine site together and reviewed the community economic development projects in Chi Phat.  At that point, I presented to His Excellency’s our request for support and along with beautiful photos of waterfalls, rivers and wildlife, showed him the maps in the magazine that we had prepared for him. This helped to visually describe the high economic and conservation value of the proposed Protected Forest area: 

• forest watershed map with river catchments and hundreds of headwaters directly supplying 7 hydropower plants;  
• Southwest Elephant Corridor map;  
• endangered endemic wildlife species map;  
• REDD+ map. 

The Vice Prime Minister seemed pleased to hear about this new protection initiative. He agreed that protecting the rainforest in the sub-decree area is of strategic importance to the country’s economy.  He assured me that he would provide strong support.  He asked me to send him a formal letter requesting intervention, after which he would send letters to the relevant ministers. I was really happy about the positive outcome of the discussion and felt re-energized when His Excellency expressed his genuine, earnest support. 

The main point of my presentation: That it is urgent to provide Protected Forest status to the Southern Cardamoms in order to stop the current trend of allocating long stretches of forest to other industrial uses (large-scale plantations).  If this new sub-decree is not implemented and the forest continues to shrink, then this could reduce rainfall and water supply to the 16 hydropower plants currently under construction in the Cardamom Mountain range.  Of those, 7 hydropower projects are located inside the section that does not yet have legal protection.  Since the total electricity generation is anticipated to meet 25% of the country’s electricity needs, it is then of strategic economic importance for the country to ensure that no more forest is cleared. That is why it makes good economic sense to quickly pass the new legislation.

Love Letters for the Kouprey Express

After a recent trip to the Chi Phat Primary School by the Kouprey Express, the team received 13 ‘love’ letters from students.  So enthralled by their experience, the kids felt compelled to express their gratitude to the team for helping them learn about animal welfare and the environment.  As the bus drove out of town, several of the kids ran behind the bus waving and cheering.  It is immensely gratifying to team in specific and the whole of Wildlife Alliance to know that we are making a positive impact in the lives of these children while teaching them to preserve Cambodia’s natural heritage.  Below are a few of the letters:

Teacher I really don’t want you to leave because I love and miss you very much when i learned with you it made me very happy and feel very comfortable. From me, the person who love and miss you very much. Han Thorn, Grade 4 

Teacher I really don’t want to get away from you because and love and miss you very much, we want you to teach us again. From me, Tong Yi, Grade 4

 To help the Kouprey Express continue their work with children and communities throughout Koh Kong Province and Phnom Penh, click here.

NEW VIDEO: Plant a Forest in 2012!

Looking for something to do to help the environment in this new year?  Help Wildlife Alliance plant a forest in 2012!  Our Reforestation program aims to plant 1.9 million trees in an effort to reconnect fragmented rainforest in the Southern Cardamom Mountain Range.  Creating this continuous forest cover preserves the watershed for this region and protects large mammal ranges.  In 2012, 400,000 trees over 425 hectares of forestland is due to be planted and the 500 hectares we’ve already planted will be maintained as the trees mature from seedlings to major forest growth.  Members of the local community work in our Million Tree Nursery collecting seeds, preparing and cultivating seedlings, and then when the time is right, head out to the planting fields and plant trees over formerly destroyed, but newly enriched, forestland.  But we need the support of donors like you to realize these goals.  Watch the video below to see how we are working to regrow forests in the tropical belt and how you can help!