ptwrc people

Mr Rong

Mr Rong has been working with the PTWRC tigers since 2002. He lives in a village only 4 kilometres away from the centre with his wife and two children who also love the tigers. He actually has to sneak out of the house in the mornings because his daughter always wants to go to work with him and he doesn't like to disappoint her by saying no all the time. Mr Rong is not scared of the tigers and they have never hurt him. His favorites are Dara, Douwitz, Marnie and Quet. He says that they only get angry with him if he wakes them up while they are trying to have a nap. Mr Rong can often be seen in a tiger enclosure with a whipper-snipper / weed-whacker keeping the enclosures looking nice for his charges. He is also in charge of the clouded leopards.

Mr Sitheng

Sitheng has worked with Lucky since she arrived at PTWRC at six months of age. She was found in Koh Kong province, alone and afraid. It is suspected that poachers killed her mother and Lucky escaped. In that time Sitheng has taught her to dance, play football, throw water from a bucket, take part in trunk to tail elephant trains and paint. Sitheng says that Lucky's favourite song to dance to is "Domrai tnom snai" by Cambodian pop icon Preap Sovatt. The song compares elephants to luxury cars and clearly favours the ele's because they don't require gasoline, there is no need to pay for parking and they are safer than cars. Lucky even starred in the film clip. Sitheng loves his job because he likes wild animals - especially elephants. He is worried about their future because they are endangered and is proud to do his part in their future conservation. He is well aware that Lucky is a national icon and knows that she makes an impression on everyone that she meets. Sitheng hopes that this will positively impact the future of the elephant in Cambodia. Being the naughtiest of the Ele's, Lucky is quite a handful and keeps Sitheng pretty fit running around after her.

Mr Tam

Tam enthusiastically took on the responsibility of caring for Chhouk when he arrived at PTWRC in March 2007. At less than two years of age and an orphan in terrible condition with a horrific foot injury, this was never going to be an easy task. Chhouk required around the clock care and Chhouk needed Tam more than his wife apparently did, so Tam moved in with him. His care has paid off - Chhouk is barely recognizable from the timid pile of skin and bones he was in March. Chhouk had to be sedated once a week to change his foot dressing and Tam was concerned about the effect it was having on him. Tam had built such a rapport with that little elephant he was able to change the dressing himself without the use of sedatives, despite the discomfort it caused Chhouk. Happily Chhouk's foot no longer requires weekly redressing and has healed nicely. Tam tells me Chhouk cries a lot because he misses his mother but I know how lucky Chhouk is to have found such a wonderful surrogate - even if he is a cheeky pot bellied he-mother! These days Chhouk is able to go for a walk with Lucky every morning and while he will always have one leg a little shorter than the others, hopefully this won't impact him too much in the future and he will live out his days safely at PTWRC.

Mr Sarim

Sarim is the newest member of the elephant team and at 19 years of age also the youngest. He has worked at PTWRC for two years now and this is his first job. He assists Mr Tam with the care of Chhouk. He told us that he loved Chhouk as soon as he saw him. Sarim loves all wild animals but elephants are his favorites. Of all the elephant keepers he was the only one who admitted that sometimes he doesn't like cleaning up the stacks and stacks of poo. I suspect this is because as the newest and youngest member of the team, he possibly does well over and above his fair share of the shovelling!