Wildlife Alliance

In late April, the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team rescued 74 assorted baby birds from wildlife traders. Most of them were hill mynahs, though there were also 4 beautiful Indian rollers. Mynah birds sell for around $50 and make popular pets.

To help the animals grow large enough to survive on their own, our Care for Rescued Wildlife team took care of them as they matured. Raising so many baby birds is a lot of work.

Care involved two hourly feedings, starting at 6:00 am and finishing around 7:00 pm. At such times there is little time for anything else. The birds were of varying ages, some with well grown feathers and some with none at all, but all initially needed to be hand-fed.

They thrived on packets of mynah food, which Nick Marx, Wildlife Alliance Animal Husbandry Specialist, syringed down their throats.

But Wildlife Alliance's office in Phnom Penh is not an ideal place for caring for so many birds, and keeping the birds fed and clean was not the only thing to worry about. It became a daily battle to stop rats finding their way into the small cages and killing the youngsters.

As the birds' feathers grew, we had to contend with the risk of them escaping. Although the birds became extremely tame they soon realized that life on the outside was more fun and several fully developed mynahs flew to freedom before we intended them to.

If you'd like to support Nick Marx's efforts to rescue and rehabilitate hill mynahs, flying squirrels and other wildlife, visit our Donate page and select Wildlife Rescue from the options available. All donations will go to our Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team and Care for Rescued Wildlife program.

A week after the mynahs arrived, two baby arrow-tailed flying squirrels were also brought to our office.

They had been rescued from Mondulkiri, where their mother had been killed. They were extremely tiny and we were concerned they might not survive. To help them make it through the vulnerable first days, their initial home was a small bird cage in Nick Marx’s apartment, where they slept cuddled up inside a T-shirt.

As they grew, they became more active and now have a larger, specially constructed enclosure. Each night they are given the run of the living room to fine tune their acrobatic skills, leaping from curtain rail to cupboard or any available shoulder that might be around.

By morning they have put themselves to bed again, sometimes in the tubular crisp container in their cage, which when lined with some cloth makes an ideal nest for them. Sometimes they find a different site to spend the day, an old rucksack hanging on the clothes stand being a particular favorite.

 

They are then gently returned to their enclosure for the rest of the day. They sleep very heavily but if awoken at such times they are very bad tempered, chattering and biting fiercely any unwary fingers that come within range. 

Releasing these animals is our ultimate goal. We built temporary cages at the Sre Ambel Ranger Station in Koh Kong Province for the birds, and Nick Marx heaved a sigh of relief the day the birds left for the wild.

We intend to construct permanent enclosures at a wildlife rehabilitation and release site in the forest, from which the birds and other rescued wildlife will be gently released. In a "soft release" method of wildlife rehabilitation, once the animals are used to the new area, their enclosures will be be left open for them to come and go as they please.

Food will be provided for as long as needed. We use this methodfor all our animals that have spent a period of time in captivity. It has proven extremely successful over the years. The provision of food serves as a form of monitoring, and we can ensure that if animals need nutritional supplementation, they can always get it.

We intend to take the flying squirrels to Koh Kong province and release them in a similar fashion, to help rebuild the populations of wild animals in the Cardamoms Mountains. The presence of rangers and environmental educators in the region will ensure that the forest is protected, and that local communities welcome their wild neighbors and keep them safe from poachers and illegal logging.

Donate to "Wildlife Rescue" and support our efforts to recover animals from poachers, traffickers and wildlife traders. Donations to "Wildlife Rescue" will support rescue operations as well as the short- and long-term care of rescued animals.