First day on the job - Phnom Tamao Wildlife Centre

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  Phnom Tamao, Takêv, Cambodia
Monday, June 13, 2011

Let the fun begin! We started the day with the 7 of us volunteers squeezing into the van with one of our many canine companions and heading ten minutes down the road to the sanctuary. Although the location is rural the main road is all hustle and bustle, vans overtaking tuk-tuks overtaking cyclists - zigzagging in and out against the traffic trying to do the same from the other direction! 

After reaching the sanctuary in one piece we were given a great induction from Emma, the FTB Volunteer Co-ordinator who explained many of the issues the bears face throughout Asia. The 111 bears they house have all been rescued from the pet trade, restaurants and bile farms so it will be great to be able to contribute in any way we can.

We toured around the bear houses and facilities, saying hello to as many as we could. The two species are quite easy to distinguish - the sun bears are the smaller of the two with small ears, short glossy coat and a golden crescent shape on their chests. Asiatic black bears (moon bears) are larger and shaggier with a V-shaped marking on their chests. They don't tend to be housed together as their temperaments are quite different- sun bears all go and energy, while the Asiatics are a bit more prone to snoozing which can cause a few disagreements! 
 
After a shady hammock swinging lunch session we visited some of the other characters in the park - also rescued from the wildlife trade - including lions, tigers, civets, binturongs, otters, gibbons, pythons, and elephants taking their daily bath. The final tour included a walk through area with free range pigs, water birds and the ever present macaques. Check out the pics below - 

http://www.takeoprovince.com/?page_id=104&preview=true 

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