Leopard Cat Found in Cambodia
AKP Phnom Penh, February 08, 2022 --

Leopard Cat (Prionailurus begalensis) listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened species has been discovered in Cambodian forests.

The Ministry of Environment shared the good news on Feb. 7, adding that the Leopard Cat was spotted in Cambodian wildlife sanctuaries through camera traps.

The leopard cat is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia.
Since 2002, the animal is widely distributed although threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range.
- AKP

A Female Indochinese Leopard Detected in Mondulkiri
AKP Phnom Penh, April 28, 2022 --

The wildlife research team of the Mondulkiri Provincial Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment, and WWF this week revealed a rare photograph of a female Indochinese leopard from their camera trap surveys, conducted in the forest of Cambodia’s eastern plains.

According to WWF's news release on its social media, the Indochinese leopard, listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, had disappeared from almost all its former range across Southeast Asia.

The Cambodia’s eastern plains landscape remains the last refuge for only very few of its last known population. Nevertheless, this extremely rare apex predator is threatened with extinction by the snaring crisis, fueled by the illegal wildlife trade.

The Indochinese leopard could face the same faith as the already extinct Indochinese tiger since its very small population left in Cambodia is exposed to high risk of getting caught in the snare hidden in the forest habitat waiting to ambush the carnivore and its ungulate prey species with indiscriminate killing.


Besides, the survey result also showed the presence of ungulates, including wild pig, muntjac, and the rare sambar deer, as well as birds and macaques.

In order to address this crisis, key actors from relevant Government ministries and international conservation organisations launched in early March 2022 the Zero-Snaring in Cambodia’s protected areas campaign, and collectively committed to ending the snaring crisis and illegal wildlife trade for the future of Cambodia’s people and wildlife.
- AKP
(Photo: WWF)
By Heng Panha

Rescued fishing cat cub is actually a baby leopard cat
Illegal fishing cat hunting was cracked down

At the beginning of November 2022, the rangers at the Ballot Office received a report of a cub belonging to a protected species of wild cat in captivity and they immediately intervened on the perpetrator overnight, confiscating the cub to return it to the natural sanctuary and sign a contract to warn of this crime. In addition, rangers will plan additional outreach activities to residents and increase night patrols. Thank you for the efforts of the park rangers.


Update: Cambodian Fishing Cat Project
Congratulations on the rescue and the crackdown on poaching! We were also very excited about the sighting of a fishing cat in October. However this has been idntified as a LEOPARD CAT (Prionailurus bengalensis) NOT a FISHING CAT (Prionailurus viverrinus).

Wildlife are Not Pets

Please note that Wildlife Alliance rescued this leopard cat from a private home in Takeo province where people had been raising it as a pet. Please remember that keeping wild animals as pets is not a good idea.
Here are three reasons why:
1) Wild animals need to live in the wild and cannot survive like domestic animals.
2) Keeping wildlife can be dangerous for health, because wild animals can be aggressive and may also carry contagious diseases.
3) The wildlife trade kills animals. Taking animals from the wild to supply the pet trade is a leading driver of species extinction.


When we respect and protect nature, nature respects and protects us.So please do not keep wild animals as pets. If you see wildlife for sale, please report it to the Wildlife Crime Hotline - Cambodia "បង្ក្រាបបទល្មើសសត្វព្រៃកម្ពុជា" on 012-500-094.