Help Care for Rescued Animals in Cambodia

In the last quarter at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre (PTWRC) the injuries to our disabled elephant, Chhouk, at long last seem to be on the mend, following a change in medicine and a new hydrotherapy pool for him to exercise in. The boundary fence we are constructing around the perimeter of the entire area, now officially titled Zoological Garden, Protected Forest and Botanical Garden, should be completed within the month and with the 3 ranger stations we have constructed so far, forest and wildlife should feel a lot safer than before.

The Phnom Tamao Forest and its protection in the different manner that this is required, continues to be a factor of importance. By the end of December, 3 ranger stations, situated at entry gates built into the boundary fence, have been completed. These enable rangers to sleep in the forest at relevant sites, to be on-hand if required. Chien Khal, the local constructor, who has been integral with most of the construction I have implemented at Phnom Tamao over the past 22 years, has continued to build the perimeter fence around the forest, which should be completed by the end of the month.

In September, our female elephant, Lucky, who makes a convincing show to her audience that she is all sweetness and light, hit our disabled male elephant, Chhouk, with such severity that she made him fall. Although there were no serious external wounds, Chhouk’s internal injuries to his right shoulder and leg have been slow to heal and the twice daily elephant-sized dose of Ibuprofen, painstakingly administered by keepers, Sol and Sarim, were having less effect. Chhouk’s reduced appetite for life was also reducing his enjoyment of the bread we used to trick him into taking the medicine.

Free the Bears, the Australian charity who care for the bears at PTWRC, lent us their small x-ray machine, and although, due to the difficulties we had taking the pictures, we could not be certain, there was general agreement among Wildlife Alliance vets and other vets I am in touch with that the leg could be broken, perhaps in more than one place. Clearly surgery on the elephant is not an option and the pain and disability were making Chhouk miserable, which was also a factor to be considered in the treatment. With this in mind, I felt that the cortico-steroid, Prednisolone might be appropriate. Two international wildlife vets suggested hydrotherapy, saying this method has achieved miraculous results with injured elephants. I wasted no time, asking the local constructor to get on with the job, but also wondering how we would get Chhouk into the pool once it was built. The Prednisolone was already taking effect when the pool was finished. Chhouk needed no encouragement and clearly agrees with the vets on the benefits of hydrotherapy. He loves the new pool, spending half an hour at a time in the water, several times each day. Maybe he already knew the water would bear some of his great weight, make movement less painful and ease his discomfort, thus helping him to heal. You might ask, what is an elephant hydrotherapy pool? Chhouk’s is much the same as the pools you should find in all elephant enclosures. It might be shaped slightly differently to some, is perhaps a little deeper than others and is definitely placed more conveniently for Chhouk than the pool he already has, but that is all! The benefit is obvious – Chhouk is on the mend at last, and that is all that matters. 

Your generous donations enable us to care for and rehabilitate all the animals at PTWRC. Thank you for your invaluable support.