Sambar deer given to PTWRC
IN ORDER to help protect and preser ve wildlife in Cambodia for the next generations, Grand Diamond Cit y Hotel and Casino and Poipet Resort in Banteay Meanchey prov ince’s Poipet town have donated 14 sambar deer to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre (PTWRC) to be raised and bred in t he capita l.
The companies’ representative, Soeum Sa Im, told The Post on Thursday that four sambar cubs, one male and three female, were bought by the companies 18 years ago from loca l v illagers liv ing near t he Thai border.
After years of breeding, he said, there are now a total 14 sambar deer in the area.
“We bought them from villagers while the animals were small and injured. We treated them and then protected them.
“First, t he sambar deer were raised in cages and were fed daily. After t hat, they were released into the nearly 5ha of forest land that was owned by the companies.
“The hope was that they would breed and produce more cubs. But because of the increase in temperature in recent years, a lot of them became sick and died. Currently, only 14 remain,” he said.
Three already arrived
Sa Im, who has researched wildlife preservation and visited PTWRC experts, said the companies lacked the expertise to protect and care for the remaining sambar deer. The animals keep getting sick, he said, so the decision was made to donate them to PTWRC.
“We are optimistic that the experts at PTWRC would preserve and protect the deer far better [than us]. The sambar will keep breeding and multiplying,” he said.
PTWRC director Nhek Rattanak Pich said on Thursday that three of the deer had a lready arrived at t he centre.
“Currently, experts are t r y ing to transfer the remaining 11 sambars to our park for protection and breeding. Soon the number of sambars will increase. Then t hey will be released into t he wildlife sanctuar y so t hey can live in natura l conditions,” he said.
Rattanak Pich said PTWRC has received many donations in the form of wildlife, such as sambar deer, red muntjac deer, crocodiles, gaurs (a lso ca lled Indian bison), leopards and an array of birdlife.
There have been a variet y of donors, from private companies to government institut ions.
The programme has been a huge success, he said, because a large number of donated animals have been released into natura l forests and wildlife sanctuaries around t he countr y.
PTWRC has also, with backing from the government and the World Wide Fund for Nature, striven to increase t he Kingdom’s population of tigers.
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