By Jessica Knierim | Development Associate
At Angkor, we're not just rewildling the historic forest with primates; we're also releasing key ungulate species that are vital to keeping an ecosystem healthy. Earlier this year, a female muntjac was brought to Angkor and placed in a large pre-release enclosure to prepare her for a life in the wild. Having spent her life in captivity, however, the female was very comforitable around humans, which is not a good quality in wild animals. We recently brought her a healthy male companion, who is much more wary of humans, to accompany her in the pre-release enclosure. The female was hand raised at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center and would take food right from her keepers' hands. Now that shw has a wary companion, she runs as soon as she sees people – a good sign that she may soon be ready for release. The muntjacs' large, forested pre-release enclosure provides a safe environment for the animals to acclimate to their new home and exposes them to the elements of the forest. It also allows us to monitor their health and rehabilitation progress. This transitional step is key to ensuring a successful release for captive born animals. Once deemed ready, we perform a soft-release, whereby the door of the enclosure is simply left open and the muntjacs are free to leave when they feel comfortable. As they transition at their own pace to living in the wild, we continue to provide food for as long as necessary and monitor their progress in the wild.
The muntjac pair has settled into their pre-release enclosure well and will soon be released. Then, we will monitor their behavior with camera traps to make sure they are safe and will listen for their calls in the forest! These small deer make a low bark-like sound that has given then the nickname of "barking deer."
Thank you for helping us repopulate this once barren forest with Cambodia's diverse wildlife. The forest surrounding this UNESCO World heritage site used to have excessive and unrestricted hunting, but with our protection, is now a safe haven for wildlife.
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By Jessica Knierim | Development Associate
By Sheena Thiruselvan | Assistant Director of Communications
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