Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre (Cambodia) – Location, Geography, Facts

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility in Cambodia.

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, Cambodia.

Country: Cambodia
Coordinates: 11.3006° N, 104.8011° E

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre overview

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility in Cambodia. The centre is located in Takeo Province and functions as a national repository for animals confiscated from illegal trade, with on-site veterinary and quarantine facilities forming a formal part of its infrastructure. Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is managed in partnership with Cambodian government agencies and international conservation organisations, and it maintains a curated collection geared to rehabilitation rather than exhibition.

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre coordinates

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is commonly mapped at approximately 11.3006° N, 104.8011° E, or 11.3006, 104.8011 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 11.3006° N, 104.8011° E

Decimal: 11.3006, 104.8011

Where Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is located

Located within the forested zone surrounding Phnom Tamao hill in Takeo Province, the site occupies a patchwork of secondary forest and managed clearings. Administrative responsibility falls to provincial authorities in coordination with national forestry agencies, placing the centre within Cambodia’s rural southern landscape. Surrounding physical features include the ridgeline of Phnom Tamao, lowland agricultural plains, and remnant forest corridors that connect the facility to broader habitat patches used for release and monitoring.

Why Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is important

The centre matters because it serves as Cambodia’s primary facility for rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing wildlife confiscated from illegal commerce. Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre differs from conventional zoos by prioritising medical care, quarantine, and soft-release infrastructure rather than entertainment displays. Its collection emphasises native Southeast Asian taxa such as sun bears, gibbons, pangolins, and crocodilians, kept in enclosures designed to encourage natural behaviours and potential reintroduction into nearby forest patches.

History of Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre

Origins of the facility lie in government efforts to centralise care for seized animals and to reduce local ad hoc holding practices. Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre expanded through partnerships that added veterinary capacity, structured quarantine, and purpose-built rehabilitation enclosures. Over time the site evolved from dispersed holding pens into a managed landscape that integrates animal care, habitat restoration, and coordination with wildlife law enforcement. Institutional development emphasised creating biosecure wards, trained husbandry teams, and protocols for assessing animals’ suitability for release.

Natural features of Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre

Topographically the facility occupies sloping ground on the flanks of Phnom Tamao, combining native canopy cover with constructed compounds. Enclosures use a mixture of materials, including reinforced concrete foundations, steel mesh panels, timber climbing structures, and vegetation screens to blend built space with forest. Distinct features include open-top bear enclosures with elevated dens, rope and canopy structures for arboreal primates, multiple aquatic pools for crocodilians and otters, and purpose-designed quarantine and surgical buildings clustered on higher, drier ground.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre

National forestry authorities retain formal oversight while international conservation partners provide technical support, creating a co-managed governance model for long-term stewardship. The centre operates within a conservation context focused on combating illegal wildlife trade, restoring local habitat, and maintaining animal health through veterinary surveillance. Management activities include habitat management within the compound, monitoring of released individuals in adjoining forest, and coordinated biosecurity measures to limit disease risk between captive and wild populations.

Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre facts

The centre began as a consolidation point for confiscated primates and later broadened to accommodate a wider range of species from illegal wildlife trade seizures. Its facilities are arranged across slopes of Phnom Tamao hill, forming a mosaic of managed enclosures and secondary forest rather than a single urban zoological block. Local and national enforcement agencies use the centre as a secure holding site for animals awaiting legal disposition and rehabilitation assessments. The site’s rehabilitation infrastructure includes soft-release enclosures that open onto surrounding forest to support phased rewilding attempts. Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is operated under the authority of Cambodia’s forestry administration in partnership with international conservation organisations.

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