(Kyodo) - More than 20 Cambodian rangers are being trained with methods for surveying the presence of bears and on the situation facing bears in Cambodian forests, according to a statement released Wednesday by an Australia-based international nongovernmental organization.
The five-day course, which runs from Monday to Friday, began at Phnom Tamao Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Center where 78 rescued bears currently live. The trainees will then move to several other parks in the country.
Tamao Zoo is located some 50 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, the capital.
The course, which is called "The Bear Sign Survey," is "to bring together the region's most experienced bear experts to train local rangers to collect valuable information about bears in the wild. It is the first time this kind of training course has ever been held in Asia and it has generated a lot of interest," says Matt Hunt, Southeast Asia program manager for Free the Bears Fund.
The Bear Sign Survey course is being led by international experts Gabriella Fredriksson, who has spent years tracking and rehabilitating bears in the forests of Borneo, and Robert Steinmetz from WWF Thailand, who has recently discovered a method for distinguishing between Malayan sun bears and Asiatic black bears by measuring the claw marks they leave on trees.
A number of international experts from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are observing the course with a view to replicating it in other countries throughout the region, the statement said.
Despite increased law enforcement efforts, three bear cubs have been confiscated or donated over the past month alone in Cambodia. These cubs are currently being cared for by Free the Bears Fund staff in Phnom Penh, and at Phnom Tamao.
The training is facilitated by Free the Bears Fund and Conservation International, with support from Perth Zoo, the Bokor Conservation Project, Forestry Administration and the Cambodia's Environment Ministry.
Bears throughout Southeast Asia face an uncertain future in the wild. Large numbers of animals continue to be hunted to supply the demand for their body parts to be used in traditional medicine, and cubs are captured for the pet and restaurants traders, the statement said.
Cambodia is thought to hold important populations of Asiatic black bears and sun bears, both of which are considered to be vulnerable according to the World Conservation Union's Red List of threatened species.
Unlike species such as the tiger, little is known about the habits and status of Southeast Asian bears in the wild. They are one of the least-studied groups of large mammals in the region.
Six of the world's eight species of bear can be found in Asia. More than 10,000 bears in China and 4,000 bears in Vietnam are kept under inhumane conditions in tiny cages, where their bile is extracted and used for traditional medicine.
The five-day course, which runs from Monday to Friday, began at Phnom Tamao Zoo and Wildlife Rescue Center where 78 rescued bears currently live. The trainees will then move to several other parks in the country.
Tamao Zoo is located some 50 kilometers south of Phnom Penh, the capital.
The course, which is called "The Bear Sign Survey," is "to bring together the region's most experienced bear experts to train local rangers to collect valuable information about bears in the wild. It is the first time this kind of training course has ever been held in Asia and it has generated a lot of interest," says Matt Hunt, Southeast Asia program manager for Free the Bears Fund.
The Bear Sign Survey course is being led by international experts Gabriella Fredriksson, who has spent years tracking and rehabilitating bears in the forests of Borneo, and Robert Steinmetz from WWF Thailand, who has recently discovered a method for distinguishing between Malayan sun bears and Asiatic black bears by measuring the claw marks they leave on trees.
A number of international experts from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand are observing the course with a view to replicating it in other countries throughout the region, the statement said.
Despite increased law enforcement efforts, three bear cubs have been confiscated or donated over the past month alone in Cambodia. These cubs are currently being cared for by Free the Bears Fund staff in Phnom Penh, and at Phnom Tamao.
The training is facilitated by Free the Bears Fund and Conservation International, with support from Perth Zoo, the Bokor Conservation Project, Forestry Administration and the Cambodia's Environment Ministry.
Bears throughout Southeast Asia face an uncertain future in the wild. Large numbers of animals continue to be hunted to supply the demand for their body parts to be used in traditional medicine, and cubs are captured for the pet and restaurants traders, the statement said.
Cambodia is thought to hold important populations of Asiatic black bears and sun bears, both of which are considered to be vulnerable according to the World Conservation Union's Red List of threatened species.
Unlike species such as the tiger, little is known about the habits and status of Southeast Asian bears in the wild. They are one of the least-studied groups of large mammals in the region.
Six of the world's eight species of bear can be found in Asia. More than 10,000 bears in China and 4,000 bears in Vietnam are kept under inhumane conditions in tiny cages, where their bile is extracted and used for traditional medicine.
3 comments:
Oh, so that is where they have been
hiding them (baby,) huh?
I saw a fat bear with 4 stars come to USA ! It may be used as Vietnamese poison medicine!
Hey, that's our bear, and we want
him back in one piece. You got
that?
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