Phnom Tamao located about 40 km south of Phnom Penh, travel along nation road number 2 and continue another 5 km down a trail at the right. Phnom Tamao is a popular destination for weekend travelers from Phnom Penh. It features mountains, the biggest national zoo, and some ancient temples. The site is popular for the local visitors as well as foreigners because of many kinds of wildlife were collected and it’s the only official wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia. Phnom Tamao Zoo was officially opened by Prime Minister Hun Sen in 2000.
The entire area of Phnom Tamao covers 2500 hectares which is treated as protected forest area. The national zoo is set up as a preserve and rescue center for rare and endangered local wildlife in a large enclosure of 70 hectares (and now is enlarging). It is under the supervision of the Forestry Department of Ministry of Agriculture with the sponsor by Wildaid and the Free the Bears Fund. Most of the animals at Phnom Tamao Zoo are rare animal and are confiscated from traffickers or saved from poachers traps which are too sick or too young to be survive in the wild, so they are kept to be taking care and Phnom Tamao Zoo become their permanent residents. Despite of this, about 95% of of the animals saved by Wildaid are released within days.
Phnom Tamao Zoo is the home for at least 84 varieties of birds, quadrupeds, and reptiles, in a total of around 800 animals. Visitors would have to walk or it is better to ride on a motorbike and stop between enclosures of animals around the zoo. It’s take about two hours time to generally travel the whole site.
I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why more people aren’t talking about this place. Is it because seeing huge, well cared for tigers stalking out their territory less than 3 feet away, through nothing but a chain link fence scares you? Or is it fact that you’ll see many of the nearly 70 bears that have been rescued, several with heartbreaking injuries? Sarcasm aside, if you’re going to Cambodia and wish to learn more about the country while there, this wildlife rescue center should be right up there with Angkor Wat, The Killing Fields, and Toul Sleng on your list of things to see.
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