Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is home to a huge variety of animals, but unfortunately many species are endangered due ti illegal wildlife trade and loss of habitat. Phnom Tamao was established to provide care for sick creatures including Sambor deer, macaques, and tigers. The centre is set in 2,500 hectares of protected forest, and houses over 80 species and 1,200 animals. A visit makes for a fascinating and highly informative day – a must for anyone looking to discover the natural beauty of Cambodia. You’ll also get to watch the elephants taking their daily bath amid plenty of trumpeting and boisterous play. Phnom Tamao is located 40km south of Phnom Penh.
Dara, the world’s only known hairy-nosed otter in captivity, got a new home at Phnom Tamao Rescue Centre. Conservation International explained that hairy-nosed otters were thought to be extinct in the 1990s, and even now researchers believe they only exist in the wild in a few pockets in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Sumatra.
If you didn’t know that Asiatic Black bears are primarily nocturnal, or that the Sun bear’s unusually long tongue comes in handy for slurping up termites, then a trip to the new Bear Discovery Centre might be for you. The recently opened centre was funded in part by the Australian Government and Free the Bears Fund, an Australian NGO working on bear preservation in South East Asia. ‘The hope is to inspire Cambodians to learn more about bears in the wild for future generations’, said Matt Hunt, FTB South East Asia program manager. The centre complements an existing bear sanctuary at Phnom Tamao currently home to 88 bears rescused from the illegal wildlife trade, which is largely driven by overseas bile farms in Vietnam and China.