Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wildlife
Cambodia's forest ecosystems were in excellent shape until the 1990s and, compared with
its neighbours, its habitats are still relatively healthy. The years of war took their toll on
some species, but others thrived in the remote jungles of the southwest and northeast. Iron-
ically, peace brought increased threats as loggers felled huge areas of primary forest and the
illicit trade in wildlife targeted some endangered species. Due to years of inaccessibility,
scientists have only relatively recently managed to research and catalogue the country's
plant and animal life.
TIGERS UNDER THREAT
In the mid-1990s, somewhere between 100 and 200 Cambodian tigers were being killed every year,
their carcasses bringing huge sums around Asia (especially China) because of their supposed aphrodisi-
acal powers. By 1998 annual incidents of tiger poaching had dropped to 85 and in 2005 just two tigers
were killed. Sadly, it's more likely that these estimates reflect a crash in tiger numbers rather than in-
creased community awareness or more effective law enforcement.
Experts fear there may be only 50 of the big cats left in the wild in Cambodia. Numbers are so low
that, despite repeated efforts, camera traps set by researchers in recent years have failed to photograph a
single tiger, though footprints and other signs of the felines' presence have been recorded. As far as
anyone can tell, the surviving tigers live in very low densities in very remote areas, making it difficult
for both poachers and scientists to find them, and hard for environmentalists to protect them.
At present, tigers are known to inhabit two areas: the central part of the Cardamom Mountains and
Mondulkiri Province. In addition, they are thought to be present in small numbers in Ratanakiri and
Preah Vihear.
For insights, stories and links about tigers in Cambodia and what's being done to protect them, visit
the website of the Cat Action Treasury at
www.felidae.org
.
Animals
Cambodia is home to an estimated 212 species of mammal, including tigers, elephants,
bears, leopards and wild oxen. Some of the biggest characters, however, are the smaller
creatures, including the binturong (nicknamed the bear cat), the pileated gibbon (the
world's largest population lives in the Cardamoms) and the slow loris, which hangs out in
trees all day. The country also has a great variety of butterflies.
