Phnom Ta Mao Zoo

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is home to a huge variety of animals, but unfortunately many species

Phnom Tamao Zoo

are endangered due to the illegal wildlife trade and loss of habitat. The largest animal park in Cambodia, Phnom Tamao was established in 1995 to provide a safe haven for 1,200 rescued animals and 102 species including Asian elephants, tigers, gibbons, macaques, leopards, and many others who are now cared for by the Cambodian Forestry Administration and a non-profit organization called Wildlife Alliance. Over 50,000 live wild animals have been rescued by the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team. Those that are healthy and suited for return to the wild are released into appropriate habitat in protected forest and other areas. The others receive a home at Phnom Tamao for as long as needed.

Phnom Tamao can be accessible as a day trip from Phnom Penh via National Road No 2 and takes about an hour and a half by car.

The largest animal park in Cambodia, Phnom Tamao was established in 1995 to provide a save haven for rescued animals, including elephants, tigers, gibbons, macaques, leopards, crocodiles, and many others who are now cared for by the Cambodian Forestry Administration and a non-profit organization called Wildlife Alliance. Since 2001, over 50,000 live animals have been rescued, most of them by the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team, an authority created by Wildlife Alliance and the Forestry Administration. Healthy animals are immediately released into a safe habitat, and animals needing rehabilitation or special care are brought to Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center for as long as needed.

Over 200,000 people visit Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center every year. It is a great attraction for both local people and tourists, easily visited as a day trip from Phnom Penh.

If you didn’t know that Asiatic Black bears are primarily nocturnal, or that the Sun bear’s unusually long

Black bear

tongue comes in handy for slurping up termites, then a trip to the new Bear Discovery Centre might be for you. The recently opened centre was funded in part by the Australian Government and Free the Bears Fund, an Australian NGO working on bear preservation in South East Asia. ‘The hope is to inspire Cambodians to learn more about bears in the wild for future generations’, said Matt Hunt, FTB South East Asia program manager. The centre complements an existing bear sanctuary at Phnom Tamao currently home to 88 bears rescused from the illegal wildlife trade, which is largely driven by overseas bile farms in Vietnam and China.