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.
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.
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.