The Prey Nup Mangroves, a Ramsar Site?

Long overdue, but here an update of the activities related to the Prey Nup Mangroves.

I attended the 3rd International Fishing Cat Symposium in Siem Reap in October and Jos & me went with a group of attendees on a tour of the wetlands in Cambdodia that have already been recognized as Ramsar Sites, which means they are wetlands of international importance as waterfowl habitat.

The 3rd International Fishing Cat Symposium, organized by Vanessa and her team of the CFEE (https://www.facebook.com/fishingcatcambodia) showcased the conservation and protection efforts in countries from Pakistan in the West to The Philippines in the East. The presentation of the disappearance of the Fishing Cat from Indonesia made everyone aware of the importance of their efforts to secure the survival of the Fishing Cat. 

The Minister of Environment, H.E. Dr. Eng Sophallet expressed his support to the protection of the Fishing Cat in Cambodia to the delegation from the FC Symposium and will support efforts to get Ramsar Site certification for the Prey Nup Mangroves at the mouth of the Kampong Smatj river, which will give some more protection to these mangroves that are of regional importance (R. Timmins PNM survey report 2008).

The Prey Nup Mangroves .... a Fishing Cat Hotspot

The 4 camera traps I took to the project and which Jos and me installed during a 2-day trip to the PNM  a month ago are delivering big!

They gave excellent videos of another family of Fishing Cats some 5 kilometer away from the first family we reported about before. Here some stills of this second family:

First the parents passed by the camera

Then their kitten followed

Moving around as a tight family

Nice photos to study the patterns of the different individuals

This male decided to take a rest in front of the camera

More good news! 

We have proof of a new litter of 2 kittens. The female passed the camera trap twice with a kitten in the same direction, apparently bringing them to a safer site.

This means we have at this site in the Prey Nup Mangroves proof of 5 individuals.

Regeneration of the Prey Nup Mangroves

In 2015 some 25 hectares of mangroves were added to the Prey Nup Mangroves. 

To show how the regeneration of the mangroves advances here a screenshot of Google Earth images made in December 2022 on the left and of May 2015 on the right. It is clearly visible that the area that until 2015 was used for agriculture is now filled with mangrove trees. Many of them are planted but there is also spontaneous regeneration visible.

The good news doesn't stop!

We have a mother and her kitten on a video: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15RwF2I4zKDD1x2jk8LtKOZoJseTG3P_X/view?usp=share_link

This for sure will give a boost to our efforts to get a protection status for the PNM.

Here a photo of the video:

And the news is getting even better!

There is a Fishing Cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) living in the Prey Nup Mangrove area.

This photo with a camera trap is the definite proof of the presence in the PNM area of this endangered species. Thanks to Jos Stiers and the Cambodian Fishing Cat Project.

Until today the number of reports of fishing cats in the SW of Cambodia can be counted on one hand.

The presence in the PNM of a fishing cat, together with the otter family of seven reported in last post, proves the importance of the PNM area for species that seek living space, far enough from humans to thrive. 

Rob Timmins in the report of his  2008 survey of the coastal area of Cambodia stressed already the importance of the PNM area for the mangrove flora and fauna of Cambodia and he mentions that in his opinion the PNM are of importance for the wider region. 

With these last two reports he proves to be very right, and we are super happy to add these two species to the list of mammals of the PNM area.

YES! YES! There are otters at the Prey Nup Mangroves

Earlier this month the camera traps have 'trapped' a group of seven otters on the dike!

You can see the noses of two more otters coming out of the scrub at the right side in the photo.

This is of course amazing news! And it would be all wonderful if not...... the camera also videoed two 

poachers with a sophisticated rifle trying to shoot the otters.

We are taking steps to see if we can do something about the poaching of these wonderful creatures.