  Female leopard and cub captured by a camera trap. The first ever photographs of a wild leopard taken with young in Cambodia. © WWF Greater Mekong / WWF Cambodia SWAP Team |
WWF has captured the first ever photos of a wild leopard with cub in Cambodia. Leopards are exothermally rare in Cambodia, which has suffered one of the highest deforestation rates in southeast Asia due to illegal logging., clearing for agriculture, fires, and unsustainable hunting.
The images were taken using camera traps that had been set up by wildlife biologists working with the Srepok Wilderness Area Project (SWAP), an initiative that aims to conserve wildlife and support local people.
“The Srepok Wilderness Area Project is helping to restore the natural wildlife populations and provide local people with pathways out of poverty,” said James MacGregor of the International Institute for Environment and Development. “The Srepok Wilderness Area Project is helping to restore the natural wildlife populations and provide local people with pathways out of poverty.”
WWF notes that the leopard sighting is a sign that the forest is in good health.
“Leopards will only reproduce if the conditions are right and these photographs are an initial positive indicator of a healthy ecosystem,” the group said in a statement.