During your trek with us, especially with our deep jungle treks, you are very likely to spot some of the following exotic wildlife in our pristine jungles.
Gibbons
The yellow-cheeked crested gibbon is native to Cambodia and the largest known population of the species in the world are found here in Cambodia.
The yellow-cheeked gibbon is born blond and later turns black. Males carry this colouring through their lifespan and have the distinguishing golden cheeks. Females are born blonde to blend into their mother's fur but they later turn black. Females turn back to blond at sexual maturity, keeping only a black cap on the top of their heads.
The yellow-cheeked gibbon has a unique song which is usually initiated by the male. The female will then join in and sing with the male to reinforce their bond and announce to other gibbons that they are a pair in a specific territory. The male usually finishes the song after the female has stopped singing. It is this unique song which will led us to spot them during your trek.
Macaque
Macaques have a larger brain than other monkeys.
Most macaques are diurnal. They hang out in large troops that sleep together in the same tree, forage for food in the morning and evening and rest in the afternoon. Although they are comfortable in trees they chose to spend their time on the ground. They feed mostly on wild fruit, berries, grains, leaves, seeds, flowers and bark and from time to time, eat insects, worms and small invertebrates and occasionally take eggs.
Female macaques generally reach sexual maturity when they are around five and are able to continue giving birth until they are 18. Females often signal they are in estrus when their genital area becomes red. Estrus usually lasts about nine days. The gestation period is between four months to seven months. Usually only a single young is born. Young macaques may nurse for up to a year. They often cling to their mother’s belly when they are very young and then ride on their mother’s back when they get older.
Many macaques have similar vocalizations: shrill barks for alarm, a growl for aggression, a squawk for surprise and screeching as a response to aggression.
forest of Southeast Asia. It is classified as ‘Vunerable’ due to large-scale deforestation and it is suspected that the global population has declined by more than 30% over the past three bear generations. The two major threats to sun bears are habitat loss and commercial hunting, both of which are protected against here in Ratanakiri.
Sun Bear
The Sun bear is the smallest of bears found in tropical
The sun bear is so called, maybe because of it’s unique whirls on its fur. Hair radiating in all directions on its shoulders and also a whorl in the centre of its chest, gives it its radiating sun-like swirls. They are usually jet-black, short and sleek though some individual sun bears are reddish or gray.
Like Pooh Bear, the sun bear can extend its extraordinary long tongue 20–25 cm to extract insects and honey, its favourite food. It has a relatively large head, to house very large teeth, especially canines, powerful jaw and claws, adapted to climb trees, all designed to climb and open tropical hardwood trees in pursuit of its favourite food, insects, larvae, and honey. As Cambodia is tropical with year-round available foods, the Sun Bears do not need to hibernate. They love bees, beehives and honey and are known to tear open trees with their long, sharp claws and teeth in search of wild bees and leave behind shattered tree trunks. These will be the signs we are looking for to track them during our treks. We will also be looking for them in fallen hollow logs, they rest in standing trees with cavities, in cavities underneath fallen logs or tree roots, and in tree branches high above the ground. The male sun bear is usually a loner and mainly diurnal, but some are active at night for short periods.
Caution Trekkers: Sun bears are known as very fierce animals when surprised in the forest.
Females mate at about 3 years of age. During time of mating, the sun bear will show behaviour like hugging, mock fighting and head bobbing with its mate. Gestation period is between 95 and 174 days. Litters consist of one or two cubs weighing about 10 oz each. Cubs are born blind and hairless. Initially, they are totally dependent on their mother, and suckle for about 18 months. After one to three months, the young can run, play and forage near their mother.
Guar
Both sexes carry horns, which grow from the sides of the head, curving upwards, bent inward and slightly backward at their tips. They are a pale green yellow its a distinct black tip. They grow to a lengthy of 60-115cm and are well sort after by collectors.
They are naturally diurnal but interestingly, due to human disturbance, they have learnt to be nocturnal. Also, they are usually quite shy and timid but again, due to human presence, they have become quite bold and aggressive, male bulls may charge unprovoked, especially during summer, when the intense heat and parasitic insects make them more short-tempered than usual.
The Guar are herbivores and like to graze on the upper portions of plants, such as leaf blades, stems, seeds and flowers of grass species. During the dry season when lush greens are in shortage, they consume barks of trees, especially the teak tree as it has high concentration of minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, therefore maintaining an optimum fibre/protein/mineral ratio for proper digestion of food and better assimilation of nutrients.
The pygmy slow loris is so named because it is the smallest type of loris found in South East Asia, weighting just about a pound in weight. Its movements are extremely slow, it never leaps like its other cousin primates but just creeps along branches, looking for prey. It becomes so slow in the winter to conserve energy that is it almost inactive. Its diet consists of fruits, insects, small fauna and floral nectar and interestingly, tree gum or sap. They are classed as omnivores but are also known as ‘gummivores’ . They have specialised teeth which forms a comb-like structure to gouge trees to release its sap. Because they are so slow and can not leap, their food source is limited in the winter and therefore eating gum allows them to survive at a low energy level but at a reduced metabolism.
As well as specialised teeth, they are have the iconic large eyes which help them see better at night as they are nocturnal. It is during our night treks when we spot them.
Pygmy Slow Loris
The pygmy slow loris is so named because it is the smallest type of loris found in South East Asia, weighting just about a pound in weight. Its movements are extremely slow, it never leaps like its other cousin primates but just creeps along branches, looking for prey. It becomes so slow in the winter to conserve energy that is it almost inactive. Its diet consists of fruits, insects, small fauna and floral nectar and interestingly, tree gum or sap. They are classed as omnivores but are also known as ‘gummivores’ . They have specialised teeth which forms a comb-like structure to gouge trees to release its sap. Because they are so slow and can not leap, their food source is limited in the winter and therefore eating gum allows them to survive at a low energy level but at a reduced metabolism.
Don’t let this cute little creature fool you, it has a toxic bite, which it gets by licking a toxic secretion from glands on the inside of its elbows.
The pygmy slow loris is seriously threatened by hunting, trade, and habitat destruction. Unfortunately, they are a common ingredient in Khmer traditional medicine. They are also sold as pets abroad and a gourmet delicacy in Vietnam. They are now classified as vulnerable and are protected here in Cambodia.
