The orangutan is carried away to safety Monday on Phnom Penh.PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -- A sickly, 4-year-old orangutan belonging to a senior member of the government was rescued Monday in Cambodia, a wildlife conservationist official said.
Wildlife protection officers recovered the orangutan as it was being transported from a veterinarian clinic, said Nick Marx of the U.S.-based organization WildAid.
"We had seen the orangutan being transported along the road, and we needed to make an inquiry whether it's been illegally imported to the country," Marx said. "We conducted the operation because it is an internationally protected species."
A government official, Nhem Vanda, told The Associated Press that he was the owner of the orangutan. He said he had been given the animal as a gift a month ago and hoped to display it at a zoo in southwest Cambodia.
Marx has taken custody of the orangutan pending an investigation by the government into whether it was imported legally or illegally.
CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, lists orangutans as endangered, meaning trade in the animals is tightly restricted.
Despite those restrictions, the smuggling of orangutans is rampant across Asia where they are illegally displayed in private zoos or kept as pets. Cambodia, for example, has come under fire from animal rights groups for refusing to confiscate 22 orangutans that are forced to entertain tourists by cycling, boxing and skateboarding in daily shows at a resort casino.
Wildlife protection officers recovered the orangutan as it was being transported from a veterinarian clinic, said Nick Marx of the U.S.-based organization WildAid.
"We had seen the orangutan being transported along the road, and we needed to make an inquiry whether it's been illegally imported to the country," Marx said. "We conducted the operation because it is an internationally protected species."
A government official, Nhem Vanda, told The Associated Press that he was the owner of the orangutan. He said he had been given the animal as a gift a month ago and hoped to display it at a zoo in southwest Cambodia.
Marx has taken custody of the orangutan pending an investigation by the government into whether it was imported legally or illegally.
CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, lists orangutans as endangered, meaning trade in the animals is tightly restricted.
Despite those restrictions, the smuggling of orangutans is rampant across Asia where they are illegally displayed in private zoos or kept as pets. Cambodia, for example, has come under fire from animal rights groups for refusing to confiscate 22 orangutans that are forced to entertain tourists by cycling, boxing and skateboarding in daily shows at a resort casino.
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