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Reforestation project at WFFT !!! (NEW)

May 2008 The WFFT is after only six years of it existence, ready for some more projects besides the rescue center and the mobile wildlife clinic. We feel that we should not only protect and rehabilitate wild animals, but should also be focusing on the protection and restoration of the forest, the home of wildlife…

Simon Purser who Joined WFFT almost 18 months ago has been very busy since end of last year to set up this new project! more here...

Ting Tong's miracle (NEW!)

April 2008 Ever since I was born I never believed in miracles, until 2001 when I founded the rescue center where I witnessed every now and then a small or even big miracle… This time I want to tell everyone about a miracle that happened in February 2008. Now lots of volunteers that have helped out at the WFFT in the last 5 years remember Ting Tong, the sometimes a bit moody and at some times very mad Stump-tailed Macaque. Ting Tong was always a large energetic macaque that was more focused on people then on other monkeys; however he was able to get along just fine with all, under his strong body was a very gentle soul. Ting Tong was slowly getting weaker however in the last few months and we could not find what was going on with him, stressed and frustrated he pulled out lots of his hair and lost weight. Extra feeding did not help even though he was stuffing his face big time with pumpkin, monkey-cow and lots of delicious fruits and vegetables. By the beginning of February Ting tong became wobbly on his legs and within a few days lost all sensation is both legs and further up to his waist, resulting in complete paralysis. more here...

Butchered tigers, leopards seized on Thai-Lao border: navy

February 2008 BANGKOK (AFP) — Six slaughtered tigers and five leopards have been seized along with 275 live pangolins as traffickers tried to smuggle them across the Mekong River into Laos, the Thai navy said Wednesday. The animals were being loaded off trucks and onto a boat when a navy patrol discovered them late Tuesday, Lieutenant Commander Teeranan Dangpun told AFP. At least six people escaped into the forest, while others on the boat fled into Laos carrying four sacks believed to contain more animal remains, said Teeranan, who led the operation. more..

Loris rescued again, when will the trade stop?

Jan 2008 Within the first week of January 2008 the WFFT hotline was called several times asking for help in rescuing wild animals. Two cases that were brought to our attention concerned the hand-over of lorises (both pygmy loris and slow loris). In both cases it were lorises that were bought from Chatuchak market, one (the slow loris) was bought two years ago and the owner was unhappy with the animals as it was sleeping all day, we feel that is quite normal for a nocturnal animal. the second one (the pygmy loris) was bought as a pet as well only a few days before but was showing signs of sickness and stress. The owner did not feel the animal belonged in a house and browsed the internet to find a rehabilitation center for the little animal. more here

Langurs and macaques electrocuted, help!

In the first week of 2008 we were again confronted with the fate of a few langurs and one macaque. These animals were crossing from one fragmented forest to another and had to cross a road where the Provincial Electricity Authority installed power lines some years ago. Unfortunately these power lines are not insulated although this would be the standard when wildlife is near (not only to protect the animals, but also to stop the system from breaking down when animals are touching the lines). more here

RAID ON SAMUI GREAT SUCCESS!

In a well prepared raid by the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division of the Royal Thai Police, headed by their commander Police Major-General Boonmee Somsuk, seven white handed gibbon babies were confiscated and their owners arrested on charges of illegal wildlife possession and animal torture. Koh Samui, one of Thailand’s prime tourist destinations has seen the exploitation of many species of wildlife such as gibbons, snakes, young crocodiles, birds of prey and other protected wildlife being carried around as photo-props, where foreign tourists are offered to take pictures holding the animals for a charge of 200 to 500 Baht per person more here

NEW WSPA sponsors Wildlife Hospital at WFFT

August 2007 Finally we can now check up, treat and operate on wild animals in a very clean, professional and up-to-date clinic at the Wildlife rescue Center of the WFFT. Although we estimate the building of this new hospital to take up to 3 months we are now able to show you the first pictures of this very important addition to the rescue center. The treatment room and the surgery theater are already ready and in use. This hospital was a necessity as we receive more and more injured wildlife such as macaques, deer, large birds and reptiles. The old facility was just not big enough and lacked the hygiene needed for a professional run hospital. The old clinic will now be used for quarantine only. The construction of the new hospital is made possible with the generous help of the WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) that the WFFT joined only last year. Together with the WSPA we hope to be able to help more wildlife in the near future and to work towards higher standards of animal welfare within Thailand. Click here for pictures

Enclosure for the rescued hornbills and birds of prey

September 2007 Over the last months we have received many birds for treatment, a painted stork with a broken leg, a few owls with injuries and some birds that got stuck in traps for small wildlife… In all cases we are able to release these birds back to the wild after full recovery, however in May and June we received a Goffin’s cockatoo, some hornbills and a group of White bellied sea-eagles that were kept for several years as pets. These birds can for now not be returned to the wild and we therefore needed urgently to build an enclosure for the birds so they could fly at least a bit. The enclosure measures 22 meters by 9 meters and has a height of 7 meters. For now this rather large enclosure will be their home. We are currently looking for another facility that can take in the birds to get them ready to go back to the wild. pictures here

Macaque creating trouble on airport, jailed at police station!

Now this story is probably unbelievable if it was without pictures as evidence… A macaque creates trouble at the Chumporn international airport, gets arrested by police and is later released “on bail” into the deep jungle…. Read and see here more!

More wildlife dropped at the rescue center

July 2007 Two baby gibbons, one juvenile gibbon and a baby langur were dropped off at the rescue center on the 14th of July. This week in July was probably one of the busiest we have had in the last years with all together 16 animals coming in in one week, mostly primates, but also 4 bears. more here with pictures

Temple rescue in Pranburi

July 2007 Things are always busy at the Wildlife Rescue Center, and unfortunately sometimes things get even more busy as we get an emergency called in. On the 9th of July we were called to go and help a seriously ill pig-tailed macaque at a temple near Pranburi city. The macaque that was not able to sit up anymore had been in a small cage since 1994, living in a lot of garbage and its own excrements. more and pictures

Again a great new macaque field!

July 2007 We are very grateful towards Greg White from Australia for a very generous donation towards the construction of a new macaque filed and at the same time we are very proud to show you the finished product; probably the best enclosure for macaques in South-East Asia... here!

Macaque around power lines treated and relocated

June 2007 Long tailed Macaques are common around Petchaburi City and often during the first half of the year the males are on the look out for new groups to join. Problem is however that the fragmentation of forests and the ever growing human population make it impossible for some males to find a new group around and they get lost... more and pictures here

Ompoom, the sun bear finally climbs the trees!

June 2007 Many volunteers at the rescue center and even more people that watched the "Lyndal's Lifeline" on Animal Planet remember Ompoom the overweight sun bear that was rescued from the fish market in Ranong. More and pictures here about Ompoom.

Perfect, one elephant off the streets...

April 2007 Thai police is gathering information countrywide on an upcoming protest by mahouts of city elephants against the proposed ban on city dwelling of captive elephants by their keepers or mahouts. This practice that has become more and more a contentious issue, complaints from tourists and visitors from all over the world and even local people such as the citizen of Bangkok have been sent to authorities. The population of captive elephants on the streets of Bangkok and other large cities in Thailand is estimated at around 200 individuals. These animals are under constant threat of road accidents, pollution and a scorching heat that can be fatal to a large mammal such as the elephant. The city dwelling is however a financially lucrative practice, bringing in more money than the work at a tourist camp or elephants conservation facility… read here more and see pictures of Somboon an elephant that was rescued forever...

Ruby has gone

March 2007 Ruby, a long tailed macaque, arrived at the rescue center over 3 years ago and was immediately at arrival seen as a macaque that was very weak and sick, we thought she would not have too long to live. Later during her stay she was diagnosed being diabetic and slowly turned blind by the beginning of 2006. Daily care was needed by then for her and insulin was being administered twice a day. Although Ruby must have felt the pain of the needle so often she always allowed us to help her and kindly turned her back on us to inject the insulin so frequently. Finally in March 2007 Ruby got very sick, she was found collapsed in the morning and died the day after. Ruby was foster mother to Bandit, Cheeky and Luis and kept them together like a real mother would. If there is a monkey heaven, we are sure that Ruby is there now, stuffing her face with food like she used to do here and caring for the little ones. Thank you for giving us your love Ruby, even after all the things people did to you.

New project of the WFFT!

March 2007 Read here more on the Marine Education and Conservation Center....

Snake attacked and rescued

March 2007 A very large snake was rescued from Bangkok. The reticulated Python of over 5 meters was found in the kitchen of a family in the suburbs of Bangkok. The snake scared the people in the house and they asked neighbors to help and remove the snake. After hitting on it with metal sticks to scare it away the snake had severe wounds and the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority was called in to help out. The officials did manage to get the snake into a moving enclosure and took it to the Bangbon municipality while waiting for the WFFT rescue team to arrive with the Care for the Wild mobile wildlife clinic. When Dr Mark Jones arrived at the scene the injuries were found to be too large and deep to have the snake released immediately. The snake is currently in the care of the clinic at the rescue center and will need approximately 2 months to recover. Pictures here

WFFT “Radios for Rangers”

March 2007 Kaeng Krachan National Park is Thailand’s largest National park with still a thriving population of rare animals such as tigers, Gaur, Bears, Hornbills and even Crocodiles. The park is due to its’ size hard to protect against poachers and rangers have a hard time keeping an eye on people entering and leaving the park through wildlife trails. In an effort to help out with the enforcement of wildlife protection laws we found that the park was in dire need of proper communication tools. We decided to purchase new radios for the rangers and provide professional base stations to monitor the jungles of Kaeng Krachan. In March we donated the first 3 complete sets to the director of the National park and more sets will follow in the months to come. Story with Picture

Pai Lin, an elephant off the streets

February 2007 We have a very large new resident at Wildlife Friends of Thailand. Pai Lin, an Asian elephant has come to live with us after spending many years on the city streets up country. She is around 45 years old and when she arrived she was in poor physical condition, underweight, dehydrated and suffering from nasal and eye discharge caused by an upper respiratory infection. As a result of carrying a heavy ‘seat’ with possibly up to six tourists in it, her back is deformed and a strange shape, although, thankfully, she doesn’t appear to be in any pain with it.

When she arrived, she was seen immediately by our vet and had a thorough examination and health check. Since her arrival, she has had a diet of good food, vitamin supplements and plenty to drink. She is improving all the time and is loving her new life. She has settled in well with our other three elephants and is particularly friendly with Nam Phon.

Instead of pounding up and down busy city streets, Pai Lin now spends her days standing on natural ground of earth and grass instead of concrete or tarmac, breathing good fresh air instead of traffic fumes, eating as much as she wants with the company of other elephants and having the care of our experienced mahouts and veterinary staff. In the late afternoons, all the elephants are walked out into the beautiful forest surrounding the centre where they spend the night foraging and eating natural foods as they would in the wild. Pai Lin is a beautiful and gentle elephant who now has a life filled with peace and quiet, a life that she truly deserves.

Update on the progress of our rescued bear

In early January, WFFT rescued a 10 year old Asiatic Black Bear from a temple in Korat

(see WFFT News… “The Mobile Wildlife Clinic on a (bear) rescue again”).

February 2007 We named her Joan, and she had suffered badly infected wounds around her rear end, which had become infested with maggots. After intensive treatment involving 3 anesthetics to clean and disinfect her wounds, and after 2 weeks of antibiotic therapy, Joan improved to the point where she could be moved out of quarantine and into a much larger outdoor enclosure. Although this is only a stepping stone towards her introduction into our 8,000 square meter new bear enclosure, she is now enjoying life exploring her new space which includes many trees, enrichments, and a large pool… it’s probably the largest space she’s ever seen! Her wounds are now healing well and we hope not to have to sedate her again. Seeing her walking around using her back legs well, showing an interest in her surroundings, and behaving like a bear, is a wonderful experience for all of us here. Bears can be very difficult to rehabilitate after the kind of life and sickness Joan has suffered, but Joan really seems to be relishing her new life… long may it continue! See Joan asleep in her new enclosure

January 2007 The Wildlife Friends Mobile Clinic funded by "Care for the Wild International" responded to another emergency. Again we were called in by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority and the Cho So Roi (CHS 100Mhz) radio station to help out with the catch and treatment of a macaque that had a metal wire around its waist for over one year. More here including a video clip! PS He is back with his group (released back to his group on valentine day, where he found his mother within minutes and was accepted back. ( Great Success!)

The Wildlife Friends Mobile Clinic funded by "Care for the Wild International" responded to another emergency last week. This time it was a 10 year old Asiatic black bear who has been living alone in a large cage for 7 years at a Buddhist temple in Korat. The bear was moved from another temple where her previous owners, who kept her in their house, had given her up when she became too big. Surrendering animals to Buddhist temples is a common practice in Thailand. The bear was in a very weak state and hardly moving. She was having a high fever and had several maggot infested wounds. Blood poisoning was also found after several tests were done on her while she was treated. The abbot of the temple had called several other wildlife and animal welfare organizations for help, but we were the only ones to respond. After learning that the bear can have a happier life at Wildlife Friend's of Thailand's (WFFT) bear sanctuary, the abbot agreed to let us take her back with us. For the next two days, WFFT's veterinarians had to perform complicated surgical procedures to remove maggots in her. more here about what is next for her, is she going to join the other bears at the Free the Bears complex and live in a specious enclosure? find more here...

FOUR AND A HALF YEARS after the first complaint was made about illegally imported orangutans at several places including the Bangkok safari park, exactly THREE YEARS after the raid on the park where over one hundred orangutan babies were found, TWO YEARS after we proofed with DNA tests that these orangutans were indeed born in the jungles of Borneo, they were finally send home! These orangutans were trained to perform shows for tourists although they were born in the wild. These orangutans were giving boxing shows for a thousand people at a time in Bangkok instead of foraging in the trees of Kalimantan. These orangutans were tortured to entertain human beings… But it is over now!

October 2006 You can now find the latest pictures of the WFFT on the pages that are created by and for volunteers and visitors of the WFFT. Please go here volunteer pictures for more....

October 2006 An adult stump-tailed macaque was rescued from a transport company's office in Prachuabkhirikhan province after its owner called us for help. The macaque called "Tjiew" is a large mail of almost 17 years old and has lived at the company since he was only one month old. Currently Tjiew is at the quarantine center and hopefully he will be integrated in to a group soon.

October 2006 Although the year 2006 has not ended yet we can already say that this year has been a busy year with the treatment and intake of many animals. The increase however in amount of Loris (Nycticebus Cougang and Nycticebus Pygmeus) cases has been more than 100% in this year. with pictures here

October 2006 We recently finished yet another enclosure while waiting for better weather for the construction of the bear enclosure. A generous donation from a future volunteer, Greg from Australia, allowed us to build a large open field for our Pig-tailed Macaques. The field, positioned beside the previously built Stump-tailed Macaque field, is home to 9 of our young Pig-tail Macaques and boasts a pool, climbing ropes and frames and large artificial hollowed tree stumps.

October 2006 After interruptions due to hurricanes and abundant rain over the past few months, work is finally underway on our newest bear field. Situated beside the recently constructed field and also generously funded by Free the Bears Inc from Australia, the new field covers approximately 12,000 square meters and will provide adequate space for up to 20 bears which he hope to rescue over the next few years. The wildlife trade in Sun Bears and Asiatic Black Bears is continuing despite efforts to curb this illegal activity and better conditions for captive bears are always in need. The new field contains a natural lake with bordered green areas and elevated towers for the bears to climb and sleep on. Once again we sincerely thank Free the Bears Inc for their assistance with this project. Updates on the construction will follow soon.

August 2006 The stray dog problem is a major concern throughout Thailand as many upcountry villagers and local townspeople are simply unable to afford routine veterinary care for their pets. Often the lack of pet neutering leads to unwanted puppies and kittens which are either dumped on temples or in forests and the stray animal problem escalates. Many of these animals end up with debilitating skin problems and other diseases and many end up simply dying due to weakness and lack of food. The veterinary team including other WFFT staff and volunteers prepared for a day of pet neutering in a local Thamairuak village to assist with this problem. A team of four veterinarians managed to neuter 26 male and female dogs and cats in a 6 hour operation, setting up a field surgery at the local open community center. Working in very basic conditions, we managed to run a smooth operation, essentially a production line – as one team anaesthetized the animals and prepared them for surgery, other teams were busy operating and yet another team was closely monitoring the recovery of the patients. Medications for skin and intestinal parasites were administered as well as any other necessary treatments. The day passed without a hitch and no medical crises. All animals recovered well and were back home with their owners or back to the local temple grounds by the early evening. We plan to continue this undertaking on a regular basis and aid pet control throughout our local provinces.

July 2006 Vietnam Within two weeks, all documents had been signed and the movement approved. On the day of transportation, the orangutans were given a good morning meal and then quickly moved into the moving cage together before being transported to the government vet station for a final signing of documents. From there, they were moved to the airport for the second last leg of their journey. By the time they reached Jakarta, it was late and they were exhausted from the journey. The government decided they would initially be taken to a Safari park where licensed quarantine premises awaited them. They will stay there for four weeks before they undertake the final leg of their journey to Borneo, where we hope they will grow into strong and confident orangutans, eventually able to return to the wild. more here!

July 2006 On July 12th we were informed by one of our volunteers in Chanthaburi province that a large male wild elephant was stuck in a mud pool for two days and could not get on his feet. Immediately our rescue team got on the way to see if they could help out. The E.R.E.C. mahout Berm and Doctor Olarn (Oh) left that morning to make the six hour trip to Chanthaburi province. More! here...

July 2006 It’s been a very exciting week at the centre following the completion of a large new enclosure for our stump tailed macaques. Although the 9 macaques had been living in adequate enclosures for the past 3 years, the new 1000 square meter enclosure provides an environment that is as close to ‘natural’ as possible. The enclosure has a large pool (macaques love playing in water), rope ladders, rope swings, a large net hammock, 3 large fake ‘trees’ (the interiors of which are furnished with swings and provide shelter from the elements) and many 15 meter trees. The macaques have all settled well together and are really enjoying their new environment. More!

July 2006 Edwin has over the last few years worked in cooperation with the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation to help stop the cross border trade in these beautiful apes, orangutans. While the over 70 orangutans confiscated in Thailand are still awaiting repatriation back to their home, Kalimantan on Borneo, a successful confiscation took place in Southern Vietnam of two very young orangutans that were smuggled in to Vietnam only a few months ago. Edwin was in contact with Vietnam based Wildlife-At-Risk for several weeks to officially complain about the prepare for the confiscation. More!

March 2006 A call was received from the Royal Project in Hua-hin about an injured slow loris that had been brought in. The loris had been stuck to a trap and was severely injured, it was in urgent need of treatment. Her right forearm had been badly injured and with the bones and tissue of the wrist joint exposed and the hand non-functional. We decided to amputate the lower injured half of the limb and treated the animal with subcutaneous fluids and antibiotics. The wound is now healing well and the loris doing fine but she will not be able to be released back to the wild in her injured state. Hopefully she will be able to manage in one of our loris enclosures at some point in the future. Story with pictures

March 2006 Update! Released dolphin spotted after 5 days in large group!!! Click here for the story Six fishing

March 2006 Every year forests are being burnt by people in the dry season to clear pars of these forests and to collect young leafs also called "phak Whaan" that can sell up to 200 baht a kilo. We estimate that many wild animals get hurt and killed due to these fires but never receive large quantities of animals in for treatment. This year however we were surprised twice to receive some very young fishing cats (six in total!) from different people. Three very young ones of a bout 3 weeks came from Sraburi province and three more from a mountain only a mile away from the center, the last ones only a few days old. According to the farmer who brought the little cubs in they were found in a hole under a tree in a heavily burnt part of the forest. He said his dog attacked the mother and killed it, therefore bringing in the unfortunate cubs. The fires have been on for 6 weeks now in the forest opposite the center and not once have we seen the authorities try to stop the fire...

February 2006 After many years in cages 20 long-tailed macaques are now living in an open enclosure complete with trees, a pool, caves and plenty of space! Finally the day has come for Friday and Kijke to live together in a large group, click here for more...

February 2006, a long-tailed macaque was brought to our clinic from the national park with severe injuries to three of four limbs. It is suspected some animals had been dumped in Kaengkrachan, an area long-tailed macaques are not known to populate prior to the finding of this monkey and others recently. Why or how, we are not entirely sure, but are doing our best to look into the situation. The animal had such severe injuries to three limbs that amputation would have been required of all affected limbs. The decision was made to euthanatize the monkey, rather than let it suffer in captivity, unable to climb or feed itself properly (the remaining limb would have been a hind leg), and being completely dependant on humans for the rest of it’s life. We received yet another injured long-tail macaque this week from Petchaburi city. The young female macaque had suffered a severe head trauma injury as a result of a vehicular accident on the highway. More here with pictures

January 2006 After almost a year the island is finally occupied. Read more here and see fantastic pictures of the gibbons swinging in the IPPL sponsored island here...

January 2006 Snakes are seen as not welcome in Bangkok and therefore rounded up by rescue organizations and the governments agencies. Most common are the reticulated and Burmese pythons that are rounded up in large numbers only to end up in dirty pens and pits at some of the city zoos. We have now been contacted by some of the agencies to pick up these snakes on a regular bases and to relocate/release them, giving them a second chance in life. The first batch of these snakes were released this month. 21 out of 22 were released in natural areas, one is still recovering from some old wounds at the centers clinic.

A young female sun bear has been rescued from poachers in PrachuapKhirikhan province. The little bear is currently recovering at the center and more news will soon be posted on this news page. An investigation on how the bear ended up in a village south of Pranburi is still underway. Please check later for more news and pictures.

January 2006 Our wish for a real mobile clinic has finally come through! After many years of looking for sponsors and working on the proposals we are very delighted that in February this year we will finally launch our "Mobile wildlife clinic" with the generous support of Care for the Wild International who will sponsor the medical equipment for this very necessary project. We already purchased a Volkswagen minibus in June 2005, but were still lacking the funds for all equipment such as dart-gun, oximeter, IV pumps, the operation table and gas anesthetics. This will now be installed all in the minibus thanks to the help of Care for the wild. The minibus will be Thailand's first real and fully equipped clinic, standby 24 hours a day for rescue missions and able to operate on the spot. We know already that the vehicle will be very handy for the treatment of city elephants, wildlife hit by cars in rural areas and the care of wildlife at breeding centers and temples where wildlife is kept without veterinary care. A detailed press release will be given at the launch of the mobile clinic at the end of February. First report here!

Work has finally been completed on the first half of our new bear enclosure, and our group of four adult bears is enjoying the new open space. The young bears who were initially placed in the first side have been moved to the second half of the enclosure which unfortunately, has yet to be completed. Work has temporarily stalled due to finances but we are hopeful that some funding may be on its way in the near future. The enclosure is complete with artificial trees for the bears to climb and sleep on top of, tunnels to hide in, padded with hay, and two swimming pools to cool in on hot days. With its size, hills and concrete protected trees, the bears can choose to either hide from all visitors or interact when they feel like it. The design of the enclosure allows the bears to be as sociable or private as they like. The second half of the enclosure is waiting on similar constructions, and two outside holding cages are also waiting to be built, to assist with cleaning and maintaining the enclosures. With over 2000sqm for the bears to run in, it is the closest we can come to a semi-wild environment, until a better solution can be found to the problem of the illegal trade in wildlife. more pics here

The year 2005 was a very special year for the animals and people at the wildlife rescue centre. We had a year of problems and solutions, a year of painful experiences and joy. I have never had such a busy time ever, not even when I was still running my business over half a decade ago, and I never thought our organization would become this big! The year started with one of the biggest natural disasters still fresh in mind, the Tsunami which devastated the Andaman coast, killing over 5,000 people in Thailand only and destroying a large coastal strip throwing marine animals onto land and pulling people and debris into the seas....more

December 2005 Little bears become big bears, we all know that. What we didn't know was how fast they become big... Bouncer the three legged Asiatic Black bear who was rescued over a year ago has developed into a large sub-adult. His weight is now close to one-hundred kilos and although having only three legs he does know how to get around. Together with Pinda, Pepper, Jeffrey and Jessie, Bouncer had been sharing the medium sized enclosure next to Phimai's group. We felt it was time to move them to a bigger enclosure. Bouncer can never go back to the wild and therefore we wanted the best (sized) enclosure possible for him. Without any funding from bear foundations we thought we could not build something very big, however with the help of a large group of volunteers we were able to finish the first part of the (pretty large) enclosure within three months. Please see here the result for now.

December 2005 More and more complaints have been coming in about Burmese and Cambodian factory workers torturing and killing macaques in and around Bangkok. One of the last complaints was send in to the Department of National parks regarding a macaque on the outskirts of Bangkok who lost a part of both an arm and a leg. The missing parts of his limbs were chopped off by a machete and became infected open wounds. Although crippled and used to being around people the monkey could not be caught. All together it took almost a week to get close enough, but on the 10th of December Edwin was able to get close enough in the dirty swamp to dart the unfortunate macaque. Please read and see more here...

November 2005 The wildlife center rescue team had been called sometime ago to rescue a group of gibbons and a langur from a failed resort development outside of Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat) province north east of Bangkok. With the coming of the recent rain and movement of several pairs of gibbons to the islands, we finally had room to care for these animals properly at the center. On Wednesday the 20^th Nov, a group of seven people from the center, including Edwin, the veterinarian, vet tech and animal keepers, headed off to rescue the neglected animals. Once at the location, it was obvious the animals needed to be moved. Some of the gibbons were housed in reasonable sized enclosures but without any kind of enrichments, and all enclosures were littered with piles of faeces, rotting food and debris. Some of the gibbons were actually overweight, astonishing given the level of care they were provided, but most likely that someone had been overfeeding them due to feeling guilty about their conditions. With no enrichments, the animals probably had no interest in anything other than eating. A solitary Langur, ‘Alfie’ completed the group of 11 animals. Alfie was obviously suffering from a skin complaint on her head and thorax, and only had dirt-caked stuffed toys for company, with which she was displaying stereotypic stress behavior. All animals were sedated for capture, examined thoroughly and medicated (deworming and vitamin supplements) before transporting back to the center. Though the trip was a long one, the animals all coped well with the change and easily went into their new homes. It has taken a few days for all animals to settle in but finally they all appear to be eating well and getting used to their new environment. Alfie has made two new friends with our resident langurs and no longer needs her dolls, while all the other gibbons have been successfully paired into male/female groups. (more on this page)

October 2005 October was a busy month with rescues with the supply of unwanted animals seemingly never ending. The beginning of the month brought us ‘Patty’ from Patong Beach, Phuket. Patty, a juvenile female pig-tailed macaque, would have to be one of the best and worst animals that we have rescued so far. Her owner was an alcoholic and obviously mistreated the poor creature. Taken from a dirty enclosure, she sat in her moving cage with a towel wrapped over her head, rocking violently back and forth. It appeared she had suffered some serious psychological trauma in her home environment and would need a lot of specific care to help rehabilitate her. After a couple of days isolated, she was placed in with the group of juvenile pig-tails to assist her socialization. At first, she hid in the top corner of the cage but within twenty four hours, she was coming down to the ground, temporarily to pick at scraps of food. Within a few days though, she was showing herself more, interacting with the others more and able to gain a fair proportion of food at feeding time. Today, she blends in with the group, not as gregarious as the others, but quietly making her way through the world and growing into a beautiful young creature.

October - November 2005 Young bears grow, they grow faster than you might think, and so with 4 young bears at the center and the three legged bear "Bouncer" we had to look for a more suitable enclosure than the cage they are in until now. The abbot of Kao Lookchang Temple again graciously donated a large piece of land with big trees to build a new bear enclosure. The new enclosure is large, almost 5,000 square meters, with pools, little hills, climbing constructions and tunnels. We hope to finish the enclosure by the fifth of December, the birthday of Thailand's King, so we have two great occasions to celebrate on one day. We will keep you updated!

Novmeber 2005 Previous years at Kaolookchang have seen large rain falls during the rainy season as would be expected in Thailand. Until last year. Unfortunately, it looked like the drought was not going to break this year either and by the end of September the lake had reached its lowest level on record. We were beginning to consider that we would need to find a way to build more enclosures for the animals that still need rescuing, since it appeared that only a miracle would put water back into the lake before the rainy season ended. Toward the end of October, amazingly, that miracle arrived and the skies opened for three days straight. Solid hard rain fell at the center and on the mountains that supply much of the water to the lake. It appeared that if the rain were not to stop, the lake would overflow, as occurred almost two years ago to the day. The lake now looks beautiful, the perfect depth, and eight islands are no longer mounds of dirt but real islands.

The first residents to take up the island were Bridget, Cosmo, and Gizmo – the family that bred on the islands more than twelve months ago. Today, all but two islands are occupied, and the morning singing fills the air and echoes across the lake. The final two islands are awaiting further work to ensure they will be well equipped to deal with our group of juvenile gibbons on one island and a family of stump tailed macaques possibly on the other.

October 2005 A male gibbon living at a temple in Bangsaphan, 200 Kms south of the center was loose for over a week and had attacked a few villagers, stealing their food. When local police tried to catch the gibbon to return it to the tree it was living on (chained) it was always aware of the fact they wanted to catch it and wisely stayed hiding high in the trees. After several unlucky trials the mayor decided to call in to the Wildlife Rescue Team, standby 24/7. On arrival we found the gibbon was loose for over 8 days already and was in no mood to return to the chain on the tree in front of the temple, although another female gibbon was still there. The mayor told us he felt this place was no good to keep wildlife and asked us not only to take the male down to the center but also to move the female gibbon with him. Within a few minutes the male gibbon was darted and taken on to the car for a medical check-up, the female gibbon was tranquilized as well and taken to the wildlife rescue center. After quarantine both gibbons were matched and they seemed to like each other so much that we decided to move both to one of the redecorated gibbon islands, sponsored by the IPPL (International Primate Protection League) earlier this year. Having observed them for a few weeks now we can say they are doing great together on the island, in the trees without chains!!!

During the last week of September 2005, we said our farewells to ‘Ta Toh’ the Ostrich who remained resident at the center for 4 months after being rescued from Bangkok. He has moved to a new home at the Royal Project in Hua Hin, where he is adapting to the company of two female ostriches and one other male ostrich. After years of living in a small concrete yard at the back of a house in Bangkok, Ta Toh has finally grown into a beautiful ostrich, complete with near normal behavior and re-growing a fine plumage. Initially he was very placid and subdued as he spent time adjusting to his new environment. Ta Toh spent his time at the center in a large enclosure (ie: approx size of a 50m swimming pool) with a concrete wall on one side and a more natural environment within. Initially he was terrified of walking beyond the concrete wall, having been so used to having concrete on four sides of his small enclosure in Bangkok. But after several weeks, he blossomed into a mature adult ostrich, exploring the enclosure and attempting to threaten passers-by in the manner of a dominant male ostrich. By this time, he was also becoming more difficult to handle, and not being a native of Thailand, it was agreed he should be amongst his own. His first day at the Royal Project was a little difficult, with some conflict occurring with his new buddies, so he was given his own area for a while until he adjusted. We are sure the daily bathing (by dedicated animal keepers!) will help him to feel right at home within no time at all. Good luck for your new life, Ta Toh!

September 2005 All serious workers need to let their hair down once in a while and so it was with us that Edwin decided after an invite, we should appear on a Thai game show called “50:50”. The show should be airing on Channel 5 on October 18, 7pm, and while we wont give away the ending, let’s just say that Bandit will have a wonderful enclosure in the near future, designed for maximum enrichment for her small limbless body. A juicy detail is that half of the show had to be re-recorderd due to the answering of the first question by Edwin, he stuck by his guns and was absolutely sure he answered it right! After checking with goverment specialists it was found he did answer right and 30 minutes of the show had to be done again! Cheers, Bandit!

A new addition to our center in September 2005 was Bandit, a 10 month old Long Tailed Macaque. Bandit had been observed three months ago by our vet and some volunteers at the Kao Wang Mountain (otherwise known as Monkey Mountain) in the city of Petchaburi. At that stage, she was being well cared for by her possessive and very protective mother. The level of care she was receiving was all the more important for the fact that she had been born without any legs, only one arm and a stump for her other arm. On the arm she has, her hand is deformed with only a middle finger and a thumb. Most likely her deformities are congenital, since there is no evidence of any hip joints or scars, plus the extent of wounding necessary to cause her deformity, had she been born normal, would most likely have killed her from the resulting blood loss and infections.

It is common for female Long Tailed Macaques to reject their young at approximately 10 months of age, to stop them from suckling and encourage them to start fending for themselves. Unfortunately for Bandit, without continued support and care, she would not survive. She would experience enormous difficulty gaining access to the food handed out by tourists and would not be able to fight off other monkeys vying for social position. Left to her own devices, Bandit would be dead by now had it not been for a kind local who rescued her from the mountain and brought her to our center. Bandit is an amazing monkey though and has adapted well to her disability. She moves with quite some speed, having developed the strength of her remaining arm and learnt how to use her long tail as an additional limb. She climbs up her cage using both her stump and available arm and has learnt to grasp food with her deformed hand. She appears to be happy and content with life despite lacking social companions, and will hopefully live a long and healthy life. We are currently trying to raise funds to build a special cage for her where she can have some interaction with staff members, since it is unlikely she would adapt well to life in a larger social group.

In September 2005, two young Dusky Langurs were surrendered to the wildlife rescue center for a better life. Phet and Phrao were given up by their owner who had been keeping them in Surat Thani at the side of her property, in a very beautiful part of the world but unfortunately, in a less than beautiful enclosure. She had seen the center on television and decided to rehabilitate her animals to our care. Phet and Phrao are now in a large new enclosure, accompanied by Luna who seems to be happy with the company. Unfortunately, the message of wildlife conservation had not sunk in as easily as the idea to surrender the langurs. The owner had in her possession a five month old baby langur that she had bought at the market three months ago for 1000baht (about $25US). She said she felt sorry for the baby because its’ mother had been shot and killed. Hence, the cycle continues….

September 2005 Not all our stories are happy and unfortunately, Jup Jang arrived with a sad story and a sadder result. Jup Jang had been brought to the WRC after being found badly injured and burnt by the side of a road in Bangkok. Her injuries were treated for a couple of days at the center but time only saw her wounds becoming more extensive over the following couple of days as the burnt tissue started to die due to loss of blood flow. All four limbs sustained severe deep burn wounds with the result that they would require amputation to prevent gangrene and death. We decided it was more humane to euthanatize her, rather than to submit her to a life completely reliant on humans for feeding and activity. Without arms or legs, what sort of a life would it be for a gibbon, who once lived in the wild? A firm reminder that such animals should be left in their natural environment rather than kept in captivity in the cities of South East Asia. (see Vet Corner – warning, photos may upset some people)

August 2005 After twelve days of illness, we are pleased to announce that Sri Nuan, one of our female pig-tailed macaques, is recovering her strength and progressing better than we had hoped for! Those who know her story will be very pleased to know that she is now able to feed herself, walk around the yard and is beginning to show signs of a return to her normal behaviour. At this rate, we hope she may be able to return to her old enclosure by the end of the week and reunite with her baby. The successful treatment of tetanus of a macaque was said to be impossible by wildlife vets around the country, but Sri Nuan is back! The party will follow soon after! (Full story)

July 2005 The hog badger is native to Thailand’s forests and although hardly seen in the wild by most Thai people, they often live on the edges of the jungles bordering small villages. A group of four little hog badgers were taken to a temple near the rescue center after they were found by some villagers, apparently rescued from a nest abandoned by their mother. This, however, is unlikely, and it could be the case that the mother has been the victim of poaching. The four juvenile badgers, however, were well cared for by the temple. Despite this care, one of the juveniles soon contracted eye trouble, and another could not walk due to a severely broken leg. Our vet has all four under her supervision, and has successfully operated on the broken leg. The animals will be released to the wild once they are a bit bigger and stronger. (Story with pictures.)

July 2005 It came to our attention that a male ostrich had been abandoned in a Bangkok house after the owner had moved out. The neighbors had been feeding it over the wall every day, and for months had been trying to find a new home for him. The Wildlife Rescue Center was soon asked to move in and rescue “Ta Toh”, whose name means “big eyes”, in cooperation with the Thai Animal Guardians Association of Bangkok. We rescued Ta Toh from the house and then transported him by truck to Petchaburi, thanks to great assistance from the Dusit Zoo animal keepers. The trip of the ostrich on the back of the 6 wheel truck made peoples’ heads turn, and was a point of laughter on the National TV news. (More with pictures)

After being on Thai television a few times over the last few months, both in documentaries and interviews, the center has gained increased recognition from Thai people all around the country. Besides the help from many individuals we are also slowly receiving help from the corporate sector. We were delighted to welcome a delegation of executives and staff from the Seagate Corporation, producers of high quality computer hard disks in Thailand. Seagate generously donated three desktop computers for our office and clinic, in addition to three high capacity hard disks for our observation equipment used in the Center’s medical unit and mobile clinic. The donated goods will be of great help to our work at the center and outside. Thank you Seagate! (Story with pictures)

The Wildlife Friends of Thailand were contacted by a group of business people from Lopburi province, and the chief veterinarian of the now defunct Lopburi monkey hospital, with a cry for help for the macaques of Lopburi. A wild population of macaques now lives in the center of the city without any food resources. The monkeys have depended on the food handed out by visitors and local people for many years, and their number has increased to such an extent that the groups have fractured. Some of these smaller groups are now living permanently in the smaller streets and on the roofs away from the ancient sites. Edwin has been to Lopburi on a fact finding mission and has agreed with the monkey doctor and a group of local people to set up a project to feed and treat the troops that are now to be found all over the city streets. Most of the monkeys living on the streets have severe skin problems that will need to be treated. The monkeys are similarly feeding on the residues in the exhaust pipes of cars and will eat anything to quench their appetite – even paper. Within a few months the Wildlife Friends will have the “Lopburi Monkey Feed and Treat Project” running. If you would like to help please contact vet@wfft.org or Edwin at 090600906 or edwin.wiek@wfft.org

July 2005 The center has recently rescued Bong, a 14 year old white cheeked gibbon from Bangkok. Bong was solitary and had spent her life in Bangkok. Although her owner was trying to take good care of her and obviously loved her, he felt that he should be handed over to the center due to the facilities that are available and prospect of a better life for Bong. (story with pictures).

Over the months of February till July of this year we received an unusual high number of pet Lorises from people, mostly from Bangkok. The keeping of a loris as pet is unfortunately still quite common although they are getting rarer in the wild due to the poaching, car accidents and habitat loss. The fact that they are a protected species by law is not making much difference due to the lack of enforcement by some of the authorities, on the Bangkok Weekend “Chatuchak” market you can easily obtain a loris for a bit less than 70 US dollars. Thanks to a few programs on Thai television that were about the work of the rescue center a lot of people learned of our work and kindly handed over their pet lorises to the center where they get a medical check up and are rehabilitated to go back to the wild after a rehab period. We are very happy to see signs of a successful release program, the released lorises are frequently seen at night wondering in the protected forest area surrounding our center. (story with pictures)

The centre was informed of a monkey living on Petchaburi Mountain. It became apparent that according to Petchaburi officials, the monkey had lived with a piece of wire around it’s neck for a year. Unfortunately, as this had not been reported and resolved earlier, the metal wire had begun to grow into the monkey’s skin, this obviously had serious medical implications for the monkey. Once the centre was made aware of the situation, a two day search ensued. Once the monkey had been found, the damage that had been caused by the wire was clear. The monkey was taken back to the centre where the wire was removed successfully, which was obviously a great relief to the centre and the monkey, who had lived in discomfort and pain for at least a year. Ten days of treatment followed which resulted in a successful release. (click for story with pictures)

July 2005 A greater hornbill, now known as Bill was brought to the centre with a chronic wound to it’s elbow. Unfortunately the wound was so bad that it went down to the joint which obviously affected it’s ability to fly. Unfortunately due to the severity of the wound, it has not healed to a satisfactory level and it is looking increasingly likely that Bill will not be able to fly again. However, Bill is settling in well at the centre and seems happy jumping around.

May - June 2005 Thailand’s Channel 3 produced two documentaries about the wildlife rescue center. These documentaries were presented by two of Thailand’s most famous movies stars; Catheleeya and Willy McIntosh. Both documentaries were aired on public holidays and were tremendously successful. Following the documentaries, the centre received a large number of visitors and a number of generous donations towards the quarantine area and the wildlife clinic. The centre would like to thank Catheleeya and Willy again for their help and support.

June 2005 Edwin was invited to be a guest on one of Thailand’s most popular talk shows, Channel 5’s Chor Chai. Edwin gave a 40 minute live interview discussing the ups and downs, trials and tribulations of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing wild animals. Millions of Thai people did see the show. Hundreds of people have been visiting the wildlife rescue and educational center since then, especially in the weekends. Over 100 phone calls were answered with reports of animals in distress and almost 40 animals been offered to center to be taken in.

July 2005 Anna was a baby macaque who came to the rescue center on 29^th June 2005 in a very poor state of health. Unfortunately, Anna was severely malnourished and this caused her head and hands to appear too large for her thin body. Anna began her life with owners in Bangkok, who realised they were unable to look after a wild animal. The owners gave Anna up to the Home of the Handicapped Animals Foundation in Bangkok. However, the foundation was unable to look after the macaque and so Anna made the journey down to the Wildlife Rescue Centre here in Petchburi which was to become her final home. Anna had her own enclosure and some very curious baby gibbons as her new neighbours. She appeared to make some progress and could often be seen eating her fruit from the warmth of her blanket. Despite everyone at the center’s best efforts, Anna sadly died on the 20^th July 2005 aged only 4 months old. Anna, you were (again) a victim of the illegal wildlife trade, human greed at its worst.

The centre is very proud to announce the completion of a new food house! The food house plays a critical role in the day-to-day running of the centre. The food for over 100 animals is prepared in this room twice a day. The old food house left a lot to be desired! Food had to be prepared outside due to a lack of space inside. Then imagine over 100 bowls laid out on the floor of a dark, hot room and volunteers worked on their knees in order to put the food into the correct bowls whilst trying to keep out of each other’s way! However, things have now changed dramatically! The new food house is now completed and is up to international standards. It boasts a large, light, airy space in order for volunteers to prepare the food whilst standing up! It would not have been possible to build if it were not for the donations of volunteers and the generous donations made by the Thai public following television programmes featuring the centre.

June 2005 The wall surrounding the quarantine area of the center has been completed. The medical center has also had some improvements of it’s own. New equipment, including an IV pump and a multi use monitor which allows the observation of animals whilst they are under anesthetic. The medical center is now upgraded to an international standard, which was not thought possible in Thailand. However as technology is always advancing, the medical center will need to be continually upgraded. (story with pictures)

March 2005 Although the Wildlife Friends of Thailand do not work in China we do feel the need to bring to your attention the faith of tens of thousands of wild animals being exploited in China, the biggest consumers of (illegal) wildlife in the world. Besides the bear bile trade where bears are being locked up in tiny cages for their whole life, the tiger trade for medicine, and the consumption of a very large variety of endangered species such as pangolins, civets and monkeys, a large amount of animals are being raised and hunted for the fur trade. We have received a horrible video clip that shows the treatment of animals for the fur-trade. Words could not describe the images and therefore we have decided to place this video on our website to expose yet another horrible violation of animal rights in China. We just wonder when some countries will finally be hold accountable for the repeated violation of both human and animal rights? For the video file click here, please be warned that the video shows the killing and live skinning of wild animals. Please forward this message to create more awareness about these horrible acts.

More stump tailed macaques rescued

January 2005 This month saw three more stump tailed macaques being handed over to our care. One afternoon a truck pulled up with a cage perched on the back containing two stump tailed macaques. They had been brought from a temple 50 kms away after the abbot had heard about the work of the rescue centre and decided this would be the best place for the macaques to go. The macaques had been living in a small, rusty cage about 2 metres X 1 metre for 6 years with nowhere to climb and no shelter, forced to sit and sleep on a wire floor. A few days later a very young stump tailed macaque, aged only about 5 weeks old, was brought to us by a man living in Cha-am who saw some people keeping the baby as a pet and persuaded them to give him up and hand him over to the care of the rescue centre. He is currently being hand reared and will soon be introduced to the stump tail group, where no doubt Nook will adopt and take care of him as she has done with the last three baby stump tailed macaques that have been brought in.

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