Wildlife Alliance proudly accepts all animals in need to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center (PTWRC), no matter the size of the animal or the severity of its condition. Our primary goal is to release every animal we take in back to his or her natural habitat, although that is not always possible if his or her injuries are too severe or if there is not a suitable habitat for the animal. Unless the animal is in need of permanent care and treatment, we are constantly working to lessen their dependency on humans and helping them become fit for the wild again. When an animal is ready to be released, we often transition them to their new habitat by keeping them in a spacious forest enclosure that immerses them in the wild.
In the second quarter of this year, we released 425 animals from PTWRC and our Wildlife Rehabilitation Station. Some of the highlights were 2 slow lorises, 85 pythons, 21 long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques, 15 common palm civets, 2 leopard cats, and many more. We were especially pleased with the release process of the slow lorises. Like most of the slow lorises we have released, these two did not need a lengthy acclimatization period and were immediately able to care for themselves in the wild. They never returned for the food we continue to put out for them, but every now and then, we do spot them on camera traps so we know they are doing well.
As for future releases, we are currently preparing our sun bears to venture out on their own. Our young male sun bear, Tela, is becoming less dependent on his surrogate mother, Sopheap. Sun bears are highly solitary animals and Tela is starting to exhibit greater independence. It should not be long before Tela feels completely comfortable being on his own and we can begin to prepare him for life in the wild. The pair of muntjac deer we have been acclimatizing for our Angkor reintroduction program had a fawn in April, and the youngster and his parents are doing well. We hope that we will soon be able to release the family either in Angkor Forest or around WRS.
Please help us continue to rehabilitate and release Cambodia’s wildlife by donating to “Care for Rescued Wildlife” on our donation page.
