Cambodia Sanctuary

Located inside the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, just outside of the capital city of Phnom Penh, Free the Bears sun & moon bear sanctuary was established in 1997. Following a spate of bear cub rescues, in 1999 the bear cub playpen was built and in 2000 facilities for adult sun bears were extended. A fully equipped Wildlife Hospital was completed in 2006 to help our bears and other species in need.

in 2008 our Bear Discovery visitor centre opened, coinciding with our 100th bear rescue in Cambodia. In 2012, a new Bear House 7 was opened, containing the Bear Den education centre for schools and tours, followed soon after by a Bear Discovery Trail. 2013 completed construction of our world-class Cub Nursery and Quarantine Area, using state of the art green design including solar power, water treatment, composting and gardens.

In 2014, groundbreaking ophthalmic surgery restored vision to our moon bear Kong. In 2015 our most recent Bear House 8 opened, raising the bar for standards of bear care.

With over 120 rescued bears in our care, Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre houses the world's largest sanctuary for sun bears.

We have an incredible team of bear experts in Cambodia, possibly the most experienced worldwide in bear cub and sun bear care & husbandry. Our team are positively changing the attitudes of Cambodians towards bears and other wildlife, providing hopes for a brighter future for bears.