Cambodia: Creatures large and small

Most of the Temples have monkeys all over them. So much that they are called 'nuisance monkeys' and are often caught up and relocated or sent to sanctuaries. I enjoyed watching their antics and how they interacted (followed) people around, waiting for treats. This picture was from a family of them on the grounds of Angkor Wat. Keep baby busy while you clean her/him up. And NO - they do not make good pets. Only stupid people take wild animals as pets.

Sanctuary/Zoo

Cambodia used to be bursting with wildlife - monkeys, birds, snakes, insects. Now many of these, especially the large organisms are in trouble. They too were affected by the war but even more than that is that they have been hunted to near extinction. During the turmoil, Cambodians struggled to survive themselves and they ate anything and everything they could find. Especially if farming was difficult (see my previous blog) due to left over land mines. Several times I saw children with slingshots trying to kill birds - or anything - to eat. Now however, a bigger problem is poaching of these animals. Poachers use wire snares, pits and other unselective tools to catch and kill animals. Some end up as food, sold as pets or parts of them are sold to greedy and/or uneducated buyers. The black market exists every where.

My friends and I have a background working in zoos and so naturally we were interested in seeing animals from the area. We visited a small zoo/sanctuary near Siem Reap. There were gorgeous cranes that are being protected there with hopes of breeding. There were also primates - gibbons, macaques, langurs. Several gibbons were swinging through the trees - all within a fenced area. I was impressed with the amount of land they had. So often in developing countries, if there are sanctuaries, they are have a limited size. This sanctuary was quite well done. There are one or two wildlife sanctuaries in Cambodia that allow animals to live in a protected area. I wish I could have visited them but did not have the time. This small sanctuary was within our reach.

And then there are more creatures - wild creatures. But these are feared by many even though they are super important to the ecosystem. Bats.

People don't like bats but they are unique and definitely needed for the role they play in the environment. They are flying mammals. Many bats you never see because they are truly nocturnal but some come out at dusk. Insectivorous bats are the small ones with fascinating faces. I've only seen a few of these in the wild. And then there are fruit eating bats. The flying fox is one of the largest of these and I worked with them a little in the zoo.

In Cambodia we went to see a huge colony of bats emerge from their caves at dusk. It was pretty amazing to watch. The colony was HUGE. We waited on a road at the bottom of cliffs full of caves and holes. A huge stone Buddha is half way up the cliff face and behind it was a tall crevice where, as we waited, gray bodies started swirling and flying out of the black gash. At first they were hard to see and then they were beating their way to the sky and we could see them against the clouds. You can see they swirled and dipped as they flew off to where ever they fed for the night.

Other highlights:

I loved all the different things you could do in Cambodia. Touring by touk-touk. Enjoying several boat tours. Sunsets over the river. Hiking into deep caverns. Circus performers. Talented crafters and woodworkers. And Awesome food.