Tortured Death of a Baby Gaur

Baby gaur only 6 months old lost a leg to a hunter snare and died in our care on January 8. She was trapped in the snare for several days, struggling to save herself, leaving her without her mother’s milk for 7 days. She finally tore her leg away from the snare, causing blood loss and a deep wound. She started wandering through the forest but fell unconscious on a cluster of rocks.

Alerted by a phone call, Wildlife Alliance’s rescue team and veterinarian rushed to Soriya village, 130 km away from Phnom Penh on the border of the Cardamom Mountains. Thanks to local community tourism guides, the injured gaur was finally located at the top of the mountain around midnight. Our team immediately evacuated her by carrying her on foot for 4 hours to reach the road where the truck was waiting. They arrived at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre by 06:00 am. The whole mission took around 20 hours.

The vets treated her wound and fed her milk, but it was too late, she was dehydrated and very weak. Without her mother’s milk, she grew weaker and weaker. When the rescue team found her, she was barely alive. The population of Gaurs has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN (The International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List since 1986 and has declined by more than 70% during the last three generations.

This baby guar’s slow and tortured death is a high alert for our fellow Cambodians to be aware of the loss of Cambodia’s precious wildlife and stop eating wildlife meat.