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Dara the tiger loves
lying around and relaxing.
-
She also likes
to be touched and talked to.
-
And, like many other animals,
she loves to play.
-
Unfortunately, Dara, and the other animals
at the Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre,
-
are all victims of the illegal poaching
of wild animals in Cambodia.
-
Many animals at the centre
are brought in by a special team
-
called the 'Wilderness Protection
Mobile Unit', or the 'MU'.
-
The MU rescues animals
from poachers.
-
With the support of
the government of Cambodia,
-
they're working
to stop poaching.
-
In many cases, rescued animals
can be returned to the wild.
-
In others, like with these crested eagles,
the animals need special care.
-
Matt Young works
for Wild Aid,
-
a US group that sponsors
the MU and the rescue centre.
-
Once we're sure
they're nice and healthy again,
-
we can get them out
to Kirirom and re-release them.
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These wild eagles
are 'hand fed',
-
or given their food by hand,
and they don't always like it!
-
Did you get that?
Fantastic!
-
The crested eagles
will probably
-
be released back
into the wilderness someday.
-
However, many of the animals here
will need human help forever.
-
This little gibbon lived in a birdcage
at a gas station for two years.
-
She's now
at Phnom Tamao.
-
They're helping her
to become healthy,
-
but they probably
won't be able to release her again.
-
She'll likely be safer
and happier at the centre.
-
Mimi was also
someone's pet.
-
A volunteer who works for 'Free the Bears',
which sponsors Mimi, explains...
-
A family bought it
for their little daughter,
-
but they only kept her for,
I think they said four weeks,
-
and then they realised
she was too hard to handle,
-
a bit nippy and everything -
so they just brought her in.
-
Like the little gibbon,
if Mimi were in the wilderness,
-
she probably wouldn't have
the skills to survive.
-
The best place for her, too,
is clearly the rescue centre.
-
Unfortunately, there is one thing
many of these animals have in common;
-
poachers want them!
If many of these beautiful animals
-
were not at the rescue centre,
they would be dead.
-
The leader of Wild Aid explains
what part of the problem is for tigers.
-
She says that poachers
can make a lot of money
-
by selling a tiger's
body parts illegally.
-
In some Asian countries, certain parts
of the tiger are ground into powder.
-
This powder is processed and sold
as an expensive traditional medicine.
-
People think that taking the product
will improve their health.
-
No one knows if this is true,
but it's definitely not good for the tigers.
-
The Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre
cares for over 800 animals
-
of 86 different types, or species,
including this friendly elephant.
-
Lucky was saved
from poachers two years ago.
-
Little Sima has been
at Phnom Tamao for six months.
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It's hard to think that these animals
may never return to their wilderness home.
-
They can't survive without support
and help from humans.
-
The Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre
is helping poaching victims in Cambodia.
-
Unfortunately, the bigger problem
of illegal poaching is still around.
-
It will be as long as there's
a demand for products
-
that are made
from these animals.
-
For now, we can only hope
that the MU can help stop
-
more wild animals
from becoming endangered.
-
Thanks to the Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre,
they'll have a safe place to go.
