Rare sun bears found in Cambodia factory
2013-02-22 18:40
Phnom Penh - Two rare Malayan sun bears have been rescued
in Cambodia after being discovered in an abandoned garment factory, a zoo
official said on Friday.
The male and female bears were rescued by officials from
the Phnom Tamao Zoo and the Wildlife Alliance, who found them in the factory in
southern Kandal province last week, according to zoo director Nhek Rattanak
Pich.
"The bears were left with no food and no one to care
for them after the factory owner fled the country," the Wildlife Alliance
said on its website.
The group said local authorities had called them after
the bears were found in purpose-built cages at the factory, which closed
without notice in December.
The bears are now being cared for at the zoo, its
director said, adding that he did not know why they had been kept at the
factory.
The Malayan sun bear is found primarily in Southeast Asia
and is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of
Nature.
Bears are among many species that have been decimated by
wildlife trafficking in Asia, which is fuelled in large part by China's massive
appetite for exotic meats and animal parts for traditional medicine.
- SAPA
