Monster’s Nursery Update Number 1!
Black-shouldered kite As usual at this time of year, the nursery has become very noisy with many baby birds being confiscated from traders. It is breeding time for a lot of bird species in Cambodia, so the traders raid the nests for chicks and eggs to sell into the illegal exotic pet trade. Our expert Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team work 24/7 to confiscate them and bring them to live with me in the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre Nursery [...]
World Otter Day
On Wednesday the 27th of March we celebrate World Otter Day! Why, you might ask, would otters be so special that they get a day of celebration in their honour? Unfortunately, as with most things with a dedicated day of celebration, it’s normally due to negative reasons. However, let’s see if we can steer this ship in another direction! How many species of otter are there and what are their threats? There are 13 otter species in the [...]
Opinion | COVID-19 – a message from God or just plain common sense?
A Ministry of Environment - Wildlife Alliance ranger stands behind a burning pile of bushmeat seized from restaurants during raids in Koh Kong province. Opinion piece by Nick Marx, Wildlife Alliance's Director of Wildlife Rescue & Care Worrying though the current crisis is as to how we contain COVID-19, of equal concern must be how we prevent the next zoonotic virus, which will probably be worse. We do not seem to learn, but must hope that this [...]
Enriching the lives of Phnom Tamao’s residents
A smooth-coated otter plays with some plastic balls as part of the enrichment program If we can ever appreciate the importance of enrichment for captive animals, now is certainly the time. Locked indoors? Going stir crazy within the same walls day in and day out? Sick of seeing the same scenery, the same housemates, everyday?! We’re all in the same boat. We’re all feeling it. So this can give you some perspective from the animal’s who are permanent [...]
Life on long patrol
Roveang station rangers cook after a day of patrolling. The team has to be completely self-sufficient whilst on a long patrol, which could last as long as 7 days. ‘The longest patrol I’ve done is seven days...sometimes we have to go 48 hours without sleep’. Long patrols are a tough physical and mental challenge, explains ID, one of Wildlife Alliance’s rangers, but they bring the team closer, allowing them to form stronger bonds. Working in the forest [...]
Conserving Cambodia’s wildlife: the case for Endangered species breeding programs
A Critically Endangered Sunda pangolin rescued after loosing a leg to a snare gets its wound cleaned with iodine by vets at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center. What is an ‘Endangered species’? We hear the term used all the time, and the definition is quite broad, subjective, and open to interpretation. The IUCN defines an Endangered species when ‘there is a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future’. Why would we care about [...]
Crocodiles rescued in Koh Kong province
After our Cardamom Rainforest Protection Program staff received information from an informant, Wildlife Alliance carried out a rescue on two crocodiles in Koh Kong province this morning. The crocodiles were taken from the Areng river in the Cardamom Mountains more than 20 years ago and had been kept by the owner ever since. They are believed to be the Critically Endangered Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis), although this is yet to be confirmed. The Siamese crocodile was widely considered to [...]
An Otter’s journey to freedom…
We’ve experienced the full range of emotions on our quest to reintroduce smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) into the forests surrounding the Angkor Temple Complex. They are one of three species of otters in Cambodia, found in a variety of habitats including mangroves, rainforests, grasslands and even human-altered landscapes such as rice paddies. They are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN with populations declining due to increasing demands for otters in the pet trade and clashes with local fishermen. Like [...]
Ivory and pangolins: The dark underbelly of Cambodia’s wildlife trade
A raid last month by Wildlife Alliance’s Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) exposed the dark underbelly of Cambodia’s illegal wildlife trade. After receiving a tipoff from the Wildlife Justice Commission, WRRT raided a carving factory suspected of holding illegal wildlife products in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh. The suspect was found with 6.58kg of ivory, 5.5kg of tiger bones, 1 tiger tooth, 1.03kg of pangolin scales, and 103 dead seahorses. A Chinese national was arrested and has been put on [...]
A tale of Jubi
What lives in the trees, has a blue face, is identified by its legs, and spends its days munching on leaves? A black-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nigripes), that’s what! On the 5th of February, our Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) received a call from a Cambodian citizen who had purchased an infant douc langur from poachers in Mondulkiri, where this endangered primate is found. Determined to be a Black shanked douc langur, this is a species we rarely come across, [...]
Monster’s Nursery Update Number 1!
Black-shouldered kite As usual at this time of year, the nursery has become [...]
World Otter Day
On Wednesday the 27th of March we celebrate World Otter Day! Why, you might [...]
Opinion | COVID-19 – a message from God or just plain common sense?
A Ministry of Environment - Wildlife Alliance ranger stands behind a burning pile of [...]
Enriching the lives of Phnom Tamao’s residents
A smooth-coated otter plays with some plastic balls as part of the enrichment program [...]
Life on long patrol
Roveang station rangers cook after a day of patrolling. The team has to be [...]
Conserving Cambodia’s wildlife: the case for Endangered species breeding programs
A Critically Endangered Sunda pangolin rescued after loosing a leg to a snare gets [...]
Crocodiles rescued in Koh Kong province
After our Cardamom Rainforest Protection Program staff received information from an informant, Wildlife Alliance [...]
An Otter’s journey to freedom…
We’ve experienced the full range of emotions on our quest to reintroduce smooth-coated otters [...]
Ivory and pangolins: The dark underbelly of Cambodia’s wildlife trade
A raid last month by Wildlife Alliance’s Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) exposed the [...]
A tale of Jubi
What lives in the trees, has a blue face, is identified by its legs, [...]