From Phnom Tamao

I was with two other girls (Nora and Claire from Singapore) in Cambodia for a training in Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre (www.cambodianwildliferescue.org)

It was an exciting trip, with different set of experiences, I did not carry my Cheeyan (cam) as I was wary of carrying expensive items, so these pictures were not taken by me.

Some memories below:

To the right was our second encounter (next to the insect in the hotel toilet flush), she was a sweet dog, always wanting to be pampered, doesnt like junk food, waited hours for the chicken from the restaurant!

To the left is one of my favourites : The Gaur, taking a quick sniff into my dinner, when I was watching them.

To the right below, is GoYu, who stole all of our hearts, he has this problem of putting his tongue and clicking it forever, it is very sad. But he is extremely gentle for a bear, because he was kept as a pet by a loving family, who allowed him to sleep in their bed. He tried to escape twice from the rescue centre, but it was obvious he wanted human beings. This is what having a wild animal as a pet can do to an animal, "Unable to recognise my own species"....

Below is the bear, whose paw was removed because he was caught in a snare. We were able to witness the vet and Mr Wu Thy (who became a good friend of ours) cleaning his wound and covering it.

To the right below is a picture showing how all the bears after a sumptuous meal in the morning, sit together and suck each others' ears. The cannot go out to the open enclosure, till it is cleaned. So they take this time (about 30 minutes), to sit back, relax, lie on their back, or have a group thingy like this :-)

To the left above, in my hand is a small rat, who was probably abandoned, which Nev (animal husbandry specialist from PTWRC) passed to me for a while. To hold life in hand is different, and knowing that it will not survive is very different. Life is like that !

More next time! Meanwhile, if you are wondering why I went to this training, I will be joining this place soon : www.acres.org.sg, to follow my passion!