TE24 Life Style Desk:
SIEM REAP – Cambodia: The melodious songs of a family of endangered monkeys ring out in the jungle near Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex – a sign of ecological regeneration after decades of devastating wildlife hunting at the site. The first pair of rare pileated gibbons was released in 2013 as part of a joint program between the Wildlife Alliance, the Forest Service and the Apsara Authority – a government agency that manages the 12th-century ruins.
The gibbon pair, named Barre and Saranik, were born to parents rescued from the wildlife trade and gave birth a year later. “We have now released four different pairs of gibbons into the Angkor forest and they are going to breed and now seven babies have been born,” Wildlife Alliance Rescue and Care program director Nick Marks told AFP. We are restoring Cambodia’s natural heritage to its most beautiful cultural heritage.
Globally, gibbons are one of the most threatened families of primates, while pileated gibbons are listed as endangered. Marks said his team rescues about 2,000 animals a year and soon many more will call the Angkor jungle home. When baby gibbons reach sexual maturity in about five to eight years, they too are expected to mate again.
“What we hope for the future is to create a sustainable population of animals that we release into this wonderful forest of Angkor,” Marks said.
Cambodian authorities welcomed the increase in baby gibbons that began in 2014 “This is a big win for our project,” said Chou Radina of Apsara Authority, who said tourists will be able to see gibbons and big hornbills flying over Angkor Wat. I added that now.
The program has released more than 40 animals and birds, including silver-headed langur, deer, smooth-headed otters, leopards, hay-cats, civets, leash-headed hornbills and green peacocks. All were either rescued from traffickers or donated to Phnom Penh.
He was born in captivity at the Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary. Containing the ruins of various capitals of the Khmer Empire from the 9th century to its 15th century, Angkor Archaeological Park contains some of Cambodia’s oldest rainforests.
It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UK. Since Angkor Wat was declared a World Heritage Site in 1992, more than 6,500 hectares of forest have undergone legal and physical protection.
Wildlife sightings are expected to attract local and foreign tourists and boost conservation education efforts. Rampant poaching, habitat loss through deforestation, farming and dam construction are robbing Cambodia’s rainforests of much of their wildlife.
Authorities cleared 61,000 snares last year, Environment Ministry spokesman Neth Fektra said, as the government launched a campaign to ban hunting and game meat consumption.
But even before the pandemic, poverty was so prevalent that many families had no choice but to continue hunting so that their families could get protein. Animals were hunted for traditional medicine and kept as pets
According to Global Forest Watch, Cambodia lost 2.6 million hectares of tree cover from 2001 to 2021, a 30% decrease since 2000. In some areas, commercial interests are taking precedence over conservation efforts — Phnom Tamao’s zoo and wildlife conservation center are under suspected threat, Marks said, prompting redeployment of development plans. In Siem Reap, the entrance to Angkor Wat, villager Moron Sarin buys bananas, watermelons, rambutans and fish at the market and feeds a family of helmeted gibbons and otters.
“We are thrilled to save these animals,” said the 64-year-old, adding that he loves swinging gibbons in trees. In the future, these animals will have babies for the younger generation to watch.
