Saved from a terrible fate

Sanctuary worker Melanie Lloyd says most of the cubs adapt well to people. Picture / Jim Eagles

There's a small - well, smallish - furry creature sucking and licking furiously on my arms and at the same time trying to climb up on to my shoulders.

It's an Asiatic bear cub, rescued from poachers who wanted to harvest its bile for use in Chinese medicines, but despite its tragic history I'm not keen on it getting any higher.

These cubs may look cute but they've got sharp teeth and powerful claws several centimetres long.

When we arrived at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary I bought a few green coconuts and tossed them into the cubs' enclosure, watching in amazement as they made short work of pulling off the tough exterior to get at the sweet, white meat.

If they can do that to a coconut imagine what they could do to my tender white skin.

In fact I don't need to imagine it because I've just finished watching another cub climb all over an Australian guy - who else? - who got a bit too friendly and ended up with his shirt torn and his chest scratched.

Still, I didn't mind giving the cub a bit of a cuddle, because its mother was almost certainly killed and it is lucky to be alive and leading a fairly comfortable life by local standards.

Phnom Tamao, about 40km from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, is a large zoo created mainly to provide homes for endangered species and animals rescued from poachers, and supported by a dozen international wildlife organisations, whose logos adorn the various enclosures.

You can get there by bus and explore on foot, but it's best to go by car because the enclosures are spread haphazardly over a wide area, it's hot, dusty and, frankly it's easier to drive.

There are always plenty of locals eager to act as guides, sell coconuts or find souvenirs, and even one enterprising pair who don giant paper mache figures to try to entice money out of visitors.

Animals you are likely to see include tigers, leopards, lions, crocodiles, peacocks, herons, deer, turtles, pythons, mongoose, assorted monkeys and, of course, bears.

The bear enclosure, one of the most sophisticated at the sanctuary, is run by Australian-based Free the Bears Fund, set up 10 years ago by Perth pensioner Mary Hutton after she watched a television programmes about bears being caged and milked of their bile.

Today it is an international organisation fighting to stop not only bile-harvesting but other forms of cruelty such as using hot plates to make bears dance, cutting off their paws to make gourmet meals or confining them in tiny cages as pets.

As well as the rescue centre in Cambodia - the first to be established - it runs operations in Laos, India, Thailand and Vietnam, and has an on-going campaign against the treatment of bears in China.

At Phnom Tamao the fund houses dozens of bears of all sizes, both Asiatic black bears and sun bears, mainly in big open-air enclosures, some in large covered cages, all rescued from unpleasant fates.

According to Melanie Lloyd, a young Australian working there, the state of the bears varies widely.

The older bears are often extremely disturbed - "not surprising considering what they've been through" - and one I was taken to see yowled and crashed into its cage at the mere sight of humans. But most of the cubs were rescued in time to save them from being traumatised and they rather like people.

In fact the little chap smooching up to me at the moment is altogether too friendly. I fear he's beginning to see me as a substitute mother. Time to go.

Checklist

Getting there

Singapore Airlines flies 19 times a week out of New Zealand direct to Singapore. From Singapore, there are 42 weekly flights to Bangkok.

Getting around

World Expeditions' 11-day Best of Laos and Cambodia trips, which start from Luang Prabang, cost $2320 (not including airfares to and from NZ, visas and some meals). The itinerary includes visits to Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap to see Angkor Wat and other temples of the Khmer empire plus three days in Luang Prabang and a trip to the Kuang Xi Falls.

Further information

World Expeditions: 0800 350 354 or see website link below. Free the bears (see link below).

* Jim Eagles went to Cambodia as guest of Singapore Airlines and World Expeditions.