Sambar deer at our Wildlife Release Station (WRS) have been tagged in preparation for release! The three deer will stay in their pre-release enclosure while we monitor them to ensure they are comfortable with the tags before opening the door for their release.

The male was rescued as a fawn in the Phnom Tamao Forest after a village dog attacked him, scaring off his mother and breaking the young deer’s leg. The Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center nursery keepers made a cast for his leg and nursed him back to health. When he regained his strength and grew to a large enough size, he was transported to an expansive, forested enclosure at WRS. One of the female sambars was born in captivity at Phnom Tamao as part of our sambar captive-breeding program. The program aims to release captive-born sambar deer to help augment Cambodia’s wild population as global population trends continue to decline. The second female was kept as a pet in Pursat province and rescued by our Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT). Upon rescue, it was determined that she was healthy enough to be taken directly to WRS to join the other two sambar deer and be prepared for release.

Now that all three deer are ready for release, they have been fitted with radio transmitters fixed to ear-tags, commonly used on cattle, with wire and glue. As the sambar get used to their new tags, our staff continue to monitor them in their pre-release enclosure to ensure that they are comfortable before release. When they are released, the transmitters will allow their keepers to track them so ensure they are adjusting well to their new life in the wild and that they do not encounter any dangers, such as snares.

You can help us purchase more radio transmitting collars to safely release more rescued wildlife by donating to our campaign, “Radio collars for released wildlife in Cambodia.”