Zoo fighting back from brink

A leopard appears healthy and strong as it paces the walls of its cage with a confident swagger and muffled growl that hints at its ferocity. It’s a welcome sight at Kampot province’s much-maligned Teuk Chhou zoo, which less than one year ago was struggling to feed its emaciated animals as they languished in tiny, rusted cages that offered little or no shade from the sun’s searing heat. “She’s in better condition; every animal here has put on weight,” says Wildlife Alliance’s wildlife rescue and care director Nick Marx, one of the men entrusted with bringing this zoo – and its animals – back from the brink. “There have been a few new animals, a few have died, but it’s around the same. Maybe previously they weren’t receiving enough food,” the experienced wildlife worker says. Marx is leading us on a tour of the zoo to show us the early stages of what financial backers Rory and Melita Hunter hope will be a huge transformation of the site, which lies in a tourist-rich area at the foot of Bokor Mountain, a short drive from Kampot town. When the Post visited the zoo last March, conditions were so appalling that skeletal elephants living in faeces-filled cages were stretching their trunks through thick bars in a desperate attempt to eat blades of grass. Other cages, which had housed bears and an otter, were eerily empty. … The zoo has some way to go in securing its future. With the pictures of emaciated animals still fresh, changing perceptions may take time. Making people aware of the zoo’s location could be another challenge. The intentions are good, but it’s clear the big issue is still money. “We’ve made the changes we can, now we will be as limited as finances allow . . . that’s basically the bottom line,” Marx says. …

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