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How the Project Started Australian Mary Hutton Started Free the Bears After She Watched a Documentary in 1993 on Bears Kept in Small Cages for Bile Farming

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How the Project Started Australian Mary Hutton Started Free the Bears After She Watched a Documentary in 1993 on Bears Kept in Small Cages for Bile Farming Welcome to Globalteer & the Bear Sanctuary Project Globalteer’s partner at the Cambodia Bear Sanctuary Project is dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of bears in Cambodia that have been poached for bear bile farms, traditional medicines, exploited as pets, used for profit within the tourist industry, or rescued from the illegal wildlife trade. You will be based with our local project partner Free the Bears (www.freethebears.org) – a locally based NGO that has been working for over 20 years to protect, preserve and enrich the lives of bears in Cambodia. You will be volunteering at Free the Bears’ bear sanctuary in the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, Cambodia. The sanctuary was constructed 1997, and is now the world’s largest sanctuary for sun bears – it also houses many other types of bears – and educates hundreds of thousands of Cambodians about the threats facing their wildlife bear populations each year. Not only will you assist in the care of rescued bears whilst at the sanctuary, but you will also receive a real insight into the overall work being done in Cambodia to protect the bear population. How the project started Australian Mary Hutton started Free the Bears after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming. The fund was registered as a not-for-profit charity on 23 March 1995. The organisation fought for several the Sun bears to be brought to Australia to start a regional breeding programme and, recognising that there were more bears in need of help in Cambodia, began construction of the Cambodian Bear Sanctuary at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre. This is now the world’s largest sanctuary for Sun bears and educates hundreds of thousands of Cambodians about the threats facing their wild bear populations each year. Greater challenges lay ahead for the Free the Bears as they strive to bring bear bile farming to an end in Vietnam and protect Laos’ wild bears from the many threats that surround them. With each country facing a unique set of issues to overcome, we employ a range of strategies including environmental education, conservation research and strengthened law enforcement to ensure that we achieve our mission to protect, preserve and enrich the lives of bears throughout the world. Daily activities Volunteers work five days a week. Here is an example of some of the work you will carry out with the bears: • Preparing food for the bears, moving them inside and then scattering and hiding the food in their enclosure to provide an environment that is as close to their natural habitat as possible where they would need to forage for their food. • Enrichment programs, which include improvements to the existing enclosures to keep the bears challenged and entertained, creating small puzzles and challenges for the bears to complete to obtain treats. • Assisting the keepers in their daily tasks. • Cleaning the enclosures. • Repair and maintenance of the enclosures and indoor holding pens. • Maintenance of the centre and surrounding area. These are only examples of what your daily activities may be as this is a dynamic project and duties will vary depending upon the needs of the animals and the sanctuary. Project objectives The aim of Free the Bears fund is to protect, preserve and enrich the lives of bears throughout the world. They seek to achieve this by: • Funding and facilitating conservation and rehabilitation projects. • Preserving areas of natural habitat with the aim of conserving bio-diversity. • Encouraging harmonious and respectful animal-human relationships by facilitating profitable and sustainable alternatives to the illegal wildlife trade. • Empowering indigenous people and communities through training initiatives, which enable indigenous communities to support themselves in a sustainable manner through responsible custodianship of the bear and its environment. • Providing information, fostering awareness, and facilitating education with regard to threats facing the global bear population. • Providing international support and sponsorship for individuals involved with the preservation and conservation of bears. • Supporting the instigation of new, the review of existing, and the enforcement of appropriate, wildlife legislation to prevent extortion of rare and endangered species as a result of the illegal wildlife trade. • Funding and creating new sanctuaries as required and continual maintenance of existing bear sanctuaries and the physical and mental wellbeing of their occupants. Project location The centre is located approximately 40km (1 hour by car) south of Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. The bear project is located within the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, which houses many of Cambodia's endangered species including tigers, Asian elephants and gibbons. Volunteers live on the outskirts of a rural Cambodian village, roughly 10km away from the sanctuary. The volunteer house has twin bedrooms so volunteers may be sharing a room with another volunteer of the same gender. A cleaner, security guard and cook are employed to look after the house and prepare dinner but volunteers should be prepared to help with domestic duties. Project contact details +61 (08) 9244 1096 Email: [email protected] Getting out and about at the project Volunteers do not work on Saturdays or Sundays, so how you spend your weekends is completely up to you. You have full flexibility in making weekend plans so if you’d like to take trips to Kampot/Kep/Siem Reap/Koh Rong/Battambang or even Mondulkiri, all you need to do is ask project staff the best way to get there! It is very easy to catch a local bus into Phnom Penh if you want to spend your weekends in the city. Phnom Penh is firmly back on the map and is growing at an astonishing rate to deal with ever increasing numbers of foreign visitors. Days can also be spent sitting on the riverside watching the bustle of daily life go by, visiting the huge number of markets for bargains, visiting the local water park when things get too hot, or simply strolling the boulevards hunting down the best street food. During your time off, you can also take advantage of the fact you are working in Cambodia’s premier zoological conservation park. Here you can see the widest range of native animals available in Cambodia, including some endangered species that are virtually impossible to see in the wild. The animals are kept in large enclosures that are as close to their natural habitat as possible. A number of other conservation and breeding projects are ongoing and you will have the opportunity to see and learn about native animal protection and conservation efforts in Cambodia. Another popular option is countryside excursions by 4x4 or trail bike where you can visit remote areas off the tourist trail and experience the beautifully diverse scenery of the Cambodian countryside as well as interacting with local people not accustomed to meeting tourists. If you are going to be needing to extend your Visa whilst at the project then this additional time will be a good opportunity to do this! .
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