Two endangered gaurs die in poachers’ snares

Two rare gaurs, a mother and a female calf, died on Monday in Pailin province’s Samlot protected area after being caught in snares. Military and environmental unit rangers, plus officers from the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, found the endangered wild cattle trapped near each other while on patrol on Monday morning.

The calf had already died, but the mother was still alive, said Thorn Kimhong, director of the Samlot protected area. “[it] might have been trapped [for up to] four days without food and water.”

Chan Socheat, operational manager for the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, said rangers, afraid of being gored, contacted Wildlife Alliance to save the animal, but it died before they arrived. “We don’t have any equipment to rescue it, but experts could give it sedatives,” Socheat said.

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