Phnom Tamao

Cambodia’s foremost wildlife sanctuary, Phnom Tamao  is a home for animals confiscated from traffickers or saved from poachers traps. It occupies a vast site south of the capital and its animals are kept in varying conditions that are rapidly improving with help from international wildlife NGOs.

Spread out as it is, it feels like a zoo crossed with a safari park. The way things are developing, Phnom Tamao is set to become one of the region’s best-run animal sanctuaries in the coming years.

Popular enclosures include huge areas for the large tiger population, and there are elephants that sometimes take part in activities such as painting. There is also a walk-through area with macaques and deer and a huge menagerie, including some rare birds from around Cambodia.

The centre is home to the world’s largest captive collections of pileated gibbons and Malayan sun bears, as well as other rarities such as Siamese crocodiles and greater adjutant storks. Wherever possible animals are released back into the wild once they have recovered and the centre operates breeding programs for a number of globally threatened species.