Elephant skeleton on display
THE skeleton of a 1-year-old Asian elephant killed by a snare last year in Mondulkiri’s Keo Seima Wildlife Seima Sanctuary is being reassembled to go on display this weekend at Koh Pich Convention and Exhibition Center in Phnom Penh.
The exhibition, organised by the Ministry of Environment and on display on Friday and Saturday, aims to educate the public about protecting wildlife and biodiversity.
Tin Ponlok, secretary-general at the General Secretariat of the National Council for Sustainable Development at the ministry, said yesterday the exhibition was especially targeting young people.
“It is the promotion of knowledge to youth, so they can join to protect and preserve the animals and biodiversity,” he said.
Meng Monireak, director of Ministry of Environment’s Biodiversity Protection Department, said about 90 percent of the skeleton had already been assembled.
The elephant was found dead with injuries from a snare last year inside the wildlife sanctuary. It was buried before being exhumed by the Environment Ministry and brought to Phnom Penh.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates the population of Asian elephants in Cambodia ranges from 250 to 600.
At least six Asian elephants were found dead between 2013 and 2016 in Mondulkiri, including the 1-year-old.
The skeleton of an Indochinese silvered langur, an endangered monkey species, will also be on display this weekend.