Monkeys with a Big A

Monkeys of all shapes and sizes. Where do you end up if you want to make a real difference out of passion? In wildlife rescue centers in Southeast Asia to roll up your sleeves as a volunteer animal caretaker.

From monkeys to crocodiles

There are good Wildlife Rescue Centers in South East Asia that take in wild animals rescued from smugglers, private homes, poor zoos and tourism - think orangutan boxing fights, elephant rides and a gibbon or baby photo shoot orangutan on the beach or in the middle of the city. The diversity of animal species in the rescue centers in Southeast Asia is enormous. Orangutans, sunbears, all kinds of macaques, gibbons, countless birds and even crocodiles. Almost all of these animals are threatened with extinction.

Back to nature

The rescue centers receive the animals, rehabilitate them and try to return them to their natural habitat. This is not always easy. Deforestation in Southeast Asia continues at a rapid pace, leaving many rescued animals with no home. The local population still has a lot to learn about the importance of the existence of the animals and the usefulness of their natural habitat. There are also many animals that cannot return to nature because they have become used to humans. If you put them back in nature, they immediately start looking for areas where people live, because they think they can get food there. Education of the local population and school children is therefore also a very important part of the work of many rescue centers. For the animals that can no longer return to their natural habitat, shelters are sought where the animals are allowed to grow old (so-called sanctuaries).

The Wildlife Friends Foundation, Thailand (WFFT)

A very good example of this is the Elephant Refuge Camp & Education Center in Thailand, about 160 kilometers southwest of Bangkok. This elephant shelter camp is part of The Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand. WFFT currently runs a fully equipped International Standard Wildlife Hospital, a 29-hectare wildlife sanctuary for big cats, monkeys, bears and other game, a sanctuary for "retired" elephants, a rehabilitation center for gibbons, and a mobile team of veterinarians. WFFT is also very active in investigating illegal trade throughout Asia, in particular the trade of baby elephants, tigers and gibbon babies for tourism, as well as trade to China.

Since this year, WFFT has also set up the first rescue center in Laos in collaboration with Laos Zoo, the Laos Wildlife Rescue center.

Tasikoki Wildlife Rescue Centre

In April 2015, on the advice of Willie Smits, I flew to North Sulawesi to work as a volunteer animal caretaker in the Tasikoki Rescue Center for a few weeks. Willie Smits is originally a forestry engineer but lives in Indonesia where he works full-time for, among other things, the orangutan. He also fights against the palm oil industry, which is a major cause of the deforestation of the islands of Indonesia.

Wille Smits built the Tasikoki Animal Shelter in the late 90s, along with several other sanctuaries, to combat the illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia.

Tasikoki mostly takes in animals rescued from smugglers. North Sulawesi is THE hotspot for smuggling exotic animals from all over Indonesia. From North Sulawesi, the animals go to the 'market', via the Philippines, to the rest of the world. Some animals to serve as exotic pets, others to end up as delicacy or medicine.

There's still a lot to do

And that's why I'm traveling to Bali this month to work in Indonesia's smallest wildlife rescue center, the Bali Wildlife Rescue Center. About 40 animals have been taken care of here, mainly rescued from smuggling and private ownership.

But my next trip is also already planned. In the spring of 2016 I will be working at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Center in Cambodia. Special about this shelter is the shelter of 130 sun and moon bears. These animals have stolen my heart while working in Tasikoki. Habitat loss from forest clearing combined with the bear's popularity in the tourism and entertainment industry threatens the future of these beautiful animals. In some Asian countries it is also believed that the bile of the bears promotes strength and virility in humans.

Bear bile from sun bears, moon bears and brown bears is sold in China and Vietnam in particular as a medicine against fever, liver and eye complaints, among other things. The bears live in very small cages on bile farms. To drain the bile, a permanent hole is made in the bear's belly. As a result, the bears often contract infections and diseases and suffer a lot of pain. It seems that this is why bears try to commit suicide by slapping themselves on their bellies. To prevent this, the bears are usually put in iron armor. In this way bile can be drained from a bear for an average of 20 years. It is estimated that some 12.000 bears live in cages in bile farms. The bear bile industry is completely redundant – cheap synthetic and plant-based alternatives to bear bile have long been available in abundance. In a number of Asian countries, the farms are now banned and the animals are transferred to rescue centers.

In Vietnam and China, Animal Asia has set up large rescue centers aimed at sheltering and caring for these bears. I haven't been there myself, but they are definitely on my list: The Vietnam Bear Rescue Center, Tam Dao, Vietnam and The China Bear Rescue Center, Chengdu, China.

What do I hope to achieve?

Many of the animals in the rescue centers are in danger of extinction. Most animals have faced hotter fires than my efforts can compensate. But I hope that with my work I contribute something to a slightly better world for animals and nature.

On my website: www.rowenagoesape.nl I want to share my experiences with you. I won't always be serious about that, there is also a lot to laugh about when rescuing and caring for animals 😉 and I would love it if you would help me continue this work. By regularly visiting my website and my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/rowenagoesape) LIKE and SHARE with your family and friends and ask them to LIKE my page as well.

I have bundled my adventures as a volunteer in Tasikoki and background information about the rescue center in a travelogue. It is an ebook that you can download for free www.rowenagoesape.nl. If you're not much of a reader, look at the great photos in the report. Will you also let me know what you think? I can really use all the feedback!

For a slightly better world.