It’s the first time the tropical mountains in south-west Cambodia have been studied in this way – here’s what the team discovered…
Researchers hid a load of camera traps in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains. What they found was remarkable
The first-ever camera trap study of the Central Cardamom Mountains Landscape has recorded 108 species, 23 of which are listed Vulnerable or higher risk on the IUCN Red List.
A total of 147 camera traps were deployed between February and December 2023, placed on potential wildlife corridors and around water sources, which have captured remarkable footage of wild animals in action in the tropical rainforest, including a critically endangered baby Sunda pangolin hitching a ride on its mother’s back.
The Cardamom Mountains in the west of Cambodia has long been known to be a vital sanctuary for rare and endangered wildlife.
Conservation efforts began several decades ago to turn around deforestation and wildlife-poaching, including former poachers being employed as rangers and ecotourism guides.
The region faces threats from illegal logging, forest-clearing for agriculture, poaching, and the unsustainable overuse of natural resources, such as wood-collection for charcoal, overfishing, and sand-dredging.
The extensive new study provides a ‘baseline’, documenting the wildlife that currently exists in the forest.
“The camera trap study provides the scientific evidence needed to create a clear call to action to governments, policy-makers and funders for the continued investment in the protection of this region,” says Sony Oum, Cambodia country lead for wildlife charity Conservation International.
“It provides objective ‘proof’ that this region supports a wide range of species, and in particular, species that are endangered. The study also informs land-management plans. It establishes a baseline understanding of the range of species supported by the forest and allows for the ongoing monitoring of populations. It also gives us a general idea where in this large landscape key species live.”
With over 95% of its forests intact, the Central Cardamom Mountains Landscape remains one of the country’s least deforested areas.
Recognised as one of the Global 200 ecoregions, the landscape is home to nearly 4,000 Chourng and Por Indigenous peoples, as well as supporting more than 500 species.
It also stores a significant volume of carbon, vital in the battle against climate change, and provides a critical watershed for over 30,000 people downstream, sustaining agriculture and fisheries, including Tonle Sap Lake.
The report, released by the Cambodian Ministry of Environment (MoE), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Conservation International and partners, documents 65 bird species, 38 mammal species, and five reptile species, including the endangered dhole, one of the last remaining predators in Cambodia, and its abundant prey base including wild pig, and northern red muntjac.
The study detected other rare and elusive species, including Asian elephants, Sunda pangolins, clouded leopards, marbled cats, Asiatic golden cats, sun bears, Asiatic black bear, gaur and green peafowl.
“The findings reveal that the Central Cardamoms Mountain Landscape is a still a stronghold for globally threatened species,” says Oum.
“It’s really interesting that this survey was able to detect large Indian civet but there was zero detection of large spotted civet – this warrants further studies to investigate what’s happening to large spotted civets in the landscape. It’s a worry to the scientific community.
“Another surprising fact is that we saw a significant number of wild boars in this survey – as African swine fever wiped out wild boar population in Borneo in 2021, that’s encouraging to see.”
Conservation International are working with the Cambodian government to maintain the health of this unique tropical rainforest for the long-term by developing legal frameworks to protect the forest, giving local rangers the technical and financial support to deter wildlife-poaching and illegal-logging, and providing economic benefits to local communities in exchange for wildlife-protection and monitoring.
“We plan to keep using cameras to track more animals, to learn about their habits and help protect them in the future,” says Oum.
Main image: Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica), mother and pangopup, listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List/Conservation International
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