Cambodia has finally emerged from more than 30 years of civil war and conflict.
Until recently, security concerns ensured that large areas of forest remained
untouched by humans, allowing populations of endangered species such as Sun
bears and Asiatic black bears to thrive. However, with the country now finally
at peace but guns and rifles still commonplace, the hunting and capture of bears
for the illegal wildlife trade poses a serious threat to their long-term
survival in Cambodia. Despite recent efforts by the government to ban the trade
in wildlife, bear paw soup is still regarded as a delicacy in some city
restaurants. The keeping of bears in small cages as a symbol of wealth also
occurs as well as the illegal smuggling of bears into neighbouring countries for
use in bear bile farms.
Cambodian Bear Sanctuary
Free the Bears Fund has been working with the Cambodian Forestry Administration
to provide a sanctuary for rescued bears since 1997. Located at the Phnom Tamao
Wildlife Rescue Centre, some 40km outside of the national capital Phnom Penh,
the sanctuary has grown as more bears continue to arrive each year and now
covers an area of more than 5 hectares. Sixteen forested habitats have been
built to house almost ninety bears (a mixture of Sun bears and Asiatic black
bears) of different ages and personalities. The bears in our Cambodian sanctuary
come from a variety of different backgrounds; some arrive with terrible injuries
after being caught by hunters using snares whilst others are found in traders
houses, awaiting sale to the highest bidder. Once at our sanctuary they are
treated for any injuries at the Cambodian Wildlife Hospital (see below) and
slowly integrated into a social group consisting of animals of a similar age.
Any young cubs are given around-the-clock care and bottle fed until they are old
enough to be introduced to other infants in our nursery group. All of the
enclosures at our Cambodian sanctuary are extensively furnished with pools,
rocks, climbing frames and a variety of enrichment toys to ensure that the bears
are kept happy and healthy at all times. Free the Bears Fund covers 100% of the
running costs of the bear sanctuary, employing a team of seven local keepers to
care for the bears.For more information on how you can assist us at our
Cambodian sanctuary, visit our Volunteers - Asia webpage.
Seen by more than 300,000 visitors (both Cambodian and international) each year,
the bears at our Phnom Tamao sanctuary offer a unique opportunity to educate the
Cambodian public on the plight of bears throughout Asia. In 2007 the "World
Expeditions Bear Discovery Centre" was completed, featuring life-size models and
interactive displays to explain the vital role that bears play in forest
eco-systems, plus ways in which visitors can help to protect bears for future
generations.
Protecting Cambodia's bears in the wild
Since 2004 Free the Bears Fund has provided financial support to the Kouprey
Express Mobile Education Unit, a unique environmental education bus which tours
communities living in and around Cambodia's National Parks and protected areas.
Providing lessons to schoolchildren during the day, and holding night shows for
the whole community during the evenings, the Kouprey Express takes environmental
education direct to those communities who hold the future to the long-term
survival of bears in the wild within Cambodia.
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Currently focusing on communities
throughout the Cardamom Mountains, the Kouprey Express is delivering a "Direct
Action Education" environmental curriculum to thousands of schoolchildren based
on the principle of Understanding through Involvement.
The World Expeditions Cambodian Wildlife Hospital was built in 2006 by Free the
Bears Fund at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre. With veterinary equipment
generously donated by Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors Worldwide group, this
hospital now provides immediate first aid and care to hundreds of wild animals
confiscated from hunters and traders each year.
Teaming up with Conservation International and experts from the IUCN Sun bear
expert team, Free the Bears Fund provided training to park rangers and
researchers from throughout Cambodia during April 2007. The Bear Sign Survey
training course, funded by Perth Zoo, bought together rangers from 11 protected
areas and enabled them to carry out baseline surveys for bear populations in
their respective forest areas. This information will be used to monitor wild
bear populations and help conservationists focus their efforts in protecting
these populations for the future.
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