WEBVTT

00:00:13.497 --> 00:00:18.256
Dara the tiger loves
lying around and relaxing.

00:00:19.263 --> 00:00:23.871
She also likes 
to be touched and talked to.

00:00:26.602 --> 00:00:31.402
And, like many other animals, 
she loves to play.

00:00:34.475 --> 00:00:39.539
Unfortunately, Dara, and the other animals
at the Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre,

00:00:39.539 --> 00:00:44.171
are all victims of the illegal poaching
of wild animals in Cambodia.

00:00:44.171 --> 00:00:47.487
Many animals at the centre 
are brought in by a special team

00:00:47.487 --> 00:00:51.205
called the 'Wilderness Protection
Mobile Unit', or the 'MU'.

00:00:51.205 --> 00:00:54.195
The MU rescues animals
from poachers.

00:00:54.195 --> 00:00:56.504
With the support of 
the government of Cambodia,

00:00:56.504 --> 00:00:59.423
they're working 
to stop poaching.

00:00:59.423 --> 00:01:04.362
In many cases, rescued animals 
can be returned to the wild.

00:01:04.362 --> 00:01:09.515
In others, like with these crested eagles,
the animals need special care.

00:01:09.515 --> 00:01:11.739
Matt Young works
for Wild Aid,

00:01:11.739 --> 00:01:15.667
a US group that sponsors 
the MU and the rescue centre.

00:01:15.667 --> 00:01:17.834
Once we're sure 
they're nice and healthy again,

00:01:17.834 --> 00:01:20.601
we can get them out 
to Kirirom and re-release them.

00:01:20.601 --> 00:01:22.624
These wild eagles 
are 'hand fed',

00:01:22.624 --> 00:01:26.186
or given their food by hand, 
and they don't always like it!

00:01:26.186 --> 00:01:28.777
Did you get that?
Fantastic!

00:01:28.777 --> 00:01:30.791
The crested eagles 
will probably

00:01:30.791 --> 00:01:33.211
be released back 
into the wilderness someday.

00:01:33.211 --> 00:01:37.461
However, many of the animals here
will need human help forever.

00:01:37.461 --> 00:01:41.479
This little gibbon lived in a birdcage
at a gas station for two years.

00:01:41.479 --> 00:01:43.402
She's now 
at Phnom Tamao.

00:01:43.402 --> 00:01:45.190
They're helping her
to become healthy,

00:01:45.190 --> 00:01:47.956
but they probably 
won't be able to release her again.

00:01:47.956 --> 00:01:51.946
She'll likely be safer 
and happier at the centre.

00:01:51.946 --> 00:01:54.114
Mimi was also 
someone's pet.

00:01:54.114 --> 00:01:58.607
A volunteer who works for 'Free the Bears',
which sponsors Mimi, explains...

00:01:58.607 --> 00:02:00.730
A family bought it 
for their little daughter,

00:02:00.730 --> 00:02:03.937
but they only kept her for,
I think they said four weeks,

00:02:03.937 --> 00:02:06.263
and then they realised 
she was too hard to handle,

00:02:06.263 --> 00:02:08.851
a bit nippy and everything -
so they just brought her in.

00:02:08.851 --> 00:02:11.791
Like the little gibbon, 
if Mimi were in the wilderness,

00:02:11.791 --> 00:02:14.653
she probably wouldn't have 
the skills to survive.

00:02:14.653 --> 00:02:19.326
The best place for her, too,
is clearly the rescue centre.

00:02:19.326 --> 00:02:23.687
Unfortunately, there is one thing 
many of these animals have in common;

00:02:23.687 --> 00:02:27.098
poachers want them! 
If many of these beautiful animals

00:02:27.098 --> 00:02:30.582
were not at the rescue centre,
they would be dead.

00:02:30.582 --> 00:02:34.958
The leader of Wild Aid explains 
what part of the problem is for tigers.

00:02:34.958 --> 00:02:37.611
She says that poachers 
can make a lot of money

00:02:37.611 --> 00:02:40.281
by selling a tiger's 
body parts illegally.

00:02:40.281 --> 00:02:45.064
In some Asian countries, certain parts
of the tiger are ground into powder.

00:02:45.064 --> 00:02:49.663
This powder is processed and sold
as an expensive traditional medicine.

00:02:49.663 --> 00:02:52.808
People think that taking the product
will improve their health.

00:02:52.808 --> 00:02:58.153
No one knows if this is true, 
but it's definitely not good for the tigers.

00:02:58.153 --> 00:03:02.153
The Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre
cares for over 800 animals

00:03:02.153 --> 00:03:08.633
of 86 different types, or species, 
including this friendly elephant.

00:03:08.633 --> 00:03:12.346
Lucky was saved 
from poachers two years ago.

00:03:12.346 --> 00:03:17.418
Little Sima has been 
at Phnom Tamao for six months.

00:03:19.531 --> 00:03:24.306
It's hard to think that these animals 
may never return to their wilderness home.

00:03:24.306 --> 00:03:29.011
They can't survive without support 
and help from humans.

00:03:29.011 --> 00:03:33.745
The Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre 
is helping poaching victims in Cambodia.

00:03:33.745 --> 00:03:38.140
Unfortunately, the bigger problem 
of illegal poaching is still around.

00:03:38.140 --> 00:03:41.031
It will be as long as there's 
a demand for products

00:03:41.031 --> 00:03:43.201
that are made
from these animals.

00:03:43.201 --> 00:03:46.760
For now, we can only hope 
that the MU can help stop

00:03:46.760 --> 00:03:49.862
more wild animals 
from becoming endangered.

00:03:49.862 --> 00:03:56.034
Thanks to the Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre,
they'll have a safe place to go.