5 October 2009 - Sanctuary

Somehow, going to visit a sanctuary sounds more ethical than going to visit a zoo. It sounds as if the animals are retained in as natural a setting as possible with as much liberty as space will allow - the primary goal of the sanctuary being to tend the animals, and to protect endangered species and not, in seeking to make as much profit as possible, let the animals forgo those things which would offer them an environment, which most closely resembles their natural one.

I wouldn't expect to see animal rights protesters at a sanctuary - I have just googled the definitions and heypresto there is a raging debate about the whole topic.

Anyhow, last Saturday, I commandeered Sethy (Desi's usual moto driver - Desi is currently in Krazie) to escort me to Ta Khmau. Two hours later, accompanied by my ipod and the blistering heat, I arrived, after a bumpy but safe ride, pink of face, at the Sanctuary which, I was informed by my guide, is at least partially funded by Wild Aid. I floated past the entrance gate, now fully used to paying the barang price as part of the two-tier system, and was greeted by what looked like healthy animals in a natural habitat. I am probably very ignorant here, the extent of my animal nurturing having been to have had joint ownership of a blind and deaf poodle upto the age of six (me not the dog). Anyway, time for some more pictures so form your own view.

By far my favourite moments were feeding the squealing otters who when, sated and silenced, would ceremoniously perform back flips into the pond behind them. At this point I realise that my manual dexterity is not what it should be. I could not quite manage, in the timeframe, to simultaneously pay for a small fish, feed it to the otter and then get my camera positioned sufficiently quickly for me to capture the gymnastics.

There are apparently only 30-40 leopards left in Cambodia in the wild. They all live in the northern provinces of Rotonak Kiri and Mondol Kiri. Whilst I plan to visit these provinces at some point, it is not exactly a goal to have a face-to- face encounter, much as I am glad that they are not extinct!

Another more popular resident of the sanctuary was an elephant who had been badly burned in a jungle fire but had been rescued and now lives with a prosthetic front left leg.

However, more sobering images were everywere on the route in and out of the sanctuary. Both to the left and right of the moto's path were blind beggars holding out bowls waiting to filled by 100 riel notes, and taking greater or lesser risks of crawling out into the infrequent oncoming traffic to make sure they are noticed and their overwhelming need not overlooked.