Biodiversity
Animals
Hornbill rescued in Seima protected forest
A patrol in Seima Protected Forest in Mondulkiri last weekend found a young great hornbill near an illegal logging site. Hornbill sightings have become rarer as the bird’s population drops. ...
Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/23925/hornbill-rescued-in-seima-protected-forest/
Expert says tiger reintroduction plan sure to fail
A leading Indian conservationist and tiger expert is warning that a multimillion-dollar scheme to reintroduce the big cat to Cambodia will be a “tragic failure” that could cost lives, and that its advocates will come to rue the attempt. ...
Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/expert-says-tiger-reintroduction-plan-sure-to-fail-111330/
World tiger numbers rise for first time in 100 years
The number of tigers in the wild has risen for the first time in 100 years, marking a major turning point in the big cat’s plight against poaching and habitat loss. Figures collated from national surveys conducted in tiger range states and from the International Union ...
India may send tigers to Cambodia
There will be discussions on whether some tigers can be relocated from India to Cambodia, at the third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation. No evidence of tigers have been found in Cambodia since 2007 and the World Wide Fund for Nature recently declared tigers ...
Jayashree Nandi
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/India-may-send-tigers-to-Cambodia/articleshow/51786692.cms
Smuggled turtles discovered in Kampong Chhnang province
A driver’s assistant has been arrested for smuggling 18 turtles hidden in mattress covers in a truck from Thailand on Saturday in Kampong Chhnang’s Toul Kralanh village, according to officials. ...
Pav Suy
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/23814/smuggled-turtles-discovered-in-kampong-chhnang-province/
Tigers to be reintroduced to Cambodia in 2019
Eight tigers will be released into the Cambodian wild in an unprecedented plan projected to cost between $20 and $50 million, the Ministry of Agriculture and WWF-Cambodia announced at an event in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. ...
Kang Sothear and Peter Ford
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/tigers-to-be-reintroduced-to-cambodia-in-2019-110954/
Kandal forestry officials find zoo inside corn truck
A truck transporting corn from Battambang to Prey Vang province was seized by forestry officials on Monday evening after hundreds of turtles and pythons were found stashed inside, according to officials. ...
Pav Suy
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/23350/kandal-forestry-officials-find-zoo-inside-corn-truck/
Ministry encourages conservation, domestication of wild animals
The Ministry of Environment is encouraging people living in or around protected areas to start feeding and domesticating wild animals, and to abstain from eating them, with similar strategies in animal conservation being attempted in communities in Preah Vihear province. ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/23236/ministry-encourages-conservation--domestication-of-wild-animals/
The hunt for long-tailed macaques
Villagers in the Cardamoms said earlier this month that the illegal practice of capturing wild long-tailed macaque monkeys is alive and well, despite a government ban. The practice was outlawed in 2010, after wild captures devastated Cambodian populations of the monkeys, but high demand by ...
Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21783/the-hunt-for-long-tailed-macaques/
Upgraded training program for elite forest rangers
The first graduates of a special training program for elite forest rangers began work this month in Preah Vihear’s protected forest.The 29 newly-minted rangers will be responsible for leading efforts to stop illegal logging, land clearance, and poaching in a forest that is home to ...
Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20991/upgraded-training-program-for-elite-forest-rangers/
Cambodia may seek India's help for tiger reintroduction
Cambodia may seek tigers from India as it plans to reinstate the big cat in the Southeast Asian nation. The last tiger was sighted in Cambodia in 2007.Representatives from Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand participated in a two day study programme to understand the successful tiger ...
Elephants get love and care in Cambodia, with tourists' help
The trip to the hills of eastern Cambodia had all the makings of a luxurious getaway: delicious fresh fruit fed by hand, a dip in a refreshingly cold watering hole and a relaxing massage. At the Mondulkiri Project, it’s not the people who call the ...
Kristi Eaton
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/elephants-love-care-cambodia-tourists-35653275
Wild things return to Angkor Wat
Decades after poachers stripped the forests surrounding Angkor Wat of large mammals, an innovative conservation group is bringing them back. Already, Wildlife Alliance has rewilded the forest with gibbons and langurs. And more are coming. ...
Jeremy Hance
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/nov/24/angkor-wat-wildlife-gibbons-rewilding
Dolphin’s decline down, infant survival rate up
The rate at which the population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River is declining has dropped dramatically in recent years, although more dolphins must be protected into adulthood to save the species from extinction, according to a new report released Tuesday. ...
Taylor O'Connell and Ouch Sony
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/dolphins-decline-down-infant-survival-rate-up-99915/
Experts strategize on wildlife reintroduction
The pangolin is slow and has no teeth—its main defense is curling up into a ball on the dense forest floor. It’s an easy target for poachers looking to cash in on the mammal’s much-prized meat or the supposed medicinal qualities of the tiny anteater’s ...
Meghan Tribe
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/experts%E2%80%88strategize-on-wildlife-reintroduction-98393/
Cambodia's 'Elephant Valley' brings new hope to a last precious rainforest
An initiative to re-home abused, over-worked domestic elephants is supporting the conservation of one of Cambodia’s last and most species-rich rainforests, writes William Laurance. Growing ecotourism in the area, attracted by the elephants, is engaging indigenous communities in forest protection and helping to stave off ...
William Laurance
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2985902/cambodias_elephant_valley_brings_new_hope_to_a_last_precious_rainforest.html
Mekong dams could halve fish stocks: study
Fish stocks in the Mekong River in Cambodia and the Vietnamese Delta could be halved if 11 planned hydropower dams go ahead, according to the preliminary results of an extensive study funded by the Vietnamese government. ...
James Reddick
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/17027/mekong-dams-could-halve-fish-stocks--study/
Vietnamese man arrested for smuggling ivory, tiger claws haul
A Vietnamese national was charged with smuggling animal parts Tuesday after he was caught with 43 kg of ivory at Siem Reap International Airport on Sunday night, officials said. ...
Fishing cat found in Cambodia after decade-long absence
Fishing cats are a rare species of predatory feline found in South and Southeast Asia. For decades, fishing cat populations have been in decline. The latest sightings were made possible by a remote cameras set up by researchers with Cambodia’s Center for Biodiversity Conservation ...
Brooks Hays
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2015/09/03/Fishing-cat-found-in-Cambodia-after-decade-long-absence/8601441303016/
More primates released at Angkor, deer to follow
The Angkor Wildlife Release Project successfully released a third group of primates into the Angkor Archaeological Park earlier this summer. An enclosure for two species of deer is now under construction. ...
Naomi-Collett Ritz
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14636/more-primates-released-at-angkor--deer-to-follow/
Wild macaques ‘laundered’ for sale in Vietnam
Considered a nuisance throughout much of Cambodia, the long-tailed macaque might not seem like a species in need of protection. ...
Chris Mueller
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/wild-macaques-laundered-for-sale-in-vietnam-91742/
Authorities release pair of rare gibbons near famed temples
Cambodian wildlife officials have released a pair of Asian gibbons into the forests near Angkor Wat, seeking to spread their population.The rare gibbons have been the subject of a protection program between the government and Wildlife Alliance since 2009. ...
Pang Chamnan
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/authorities-release-pair-of-rare-gibbons-near-famed-temples/2916497.html
Three men arrested in Mondolkiri with deer meat
Authorities in Mondolkiri province arrested three men Wednesday morning after discovering nearly 150 kg of illegal bushmeat in the vehicle they were driving, a forestry official said. ...
Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/three-men-arrested-in-mondolkiri-with-deer-meat-91536/
Cambodia makes progress curbing bear trade
Cambodia’s wild bears are under unprecedented pressure. Their native forests are being cut down at record rates, and China’s huge demand for traditional medicine has made them targets. But experts say Cambodia’s conservation efforts are setting an example that has put it well ahead of ...
Robert Carmichael
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/cambodia-makes-progress-curbing-bear-trade/2900786.html