War!

Last Sunday we found ourselves at Cu Chi, about 1.5 hours drive out of town. Normally people head out there to go through the infamous tunnels and play with real guns, but that was not our aim.



Our destination was the animal rescue shelter that is run by a non-profit organisation called 'Wildlife At Risk' - WAR!! This group is dedicated to trying to save many of the country's endangered species from extinction. And with enemies like habitat loss, hunting, pollution and, above all, an illegal wildlife trade, the animals and WAR have quite a battle on their hands.



So we joined a group of 20 people that were organised by our favourite chamber of commerce, rolled up the sleeves and helped dig, paint, garden and attend to animal cages.

But above all, we met the staff and learnt a lot about their efforts and why its is so important.

This strange armadillo-like creature is called a Pangolin. The other strange looking creature is Simon, a fun-loving englishman that is absolutely passionate about what he does here.

Pangolins are also known as scaly anteaters because their body is protected by a scaly armour and they love to feed on ants and termites. They are an amazing animal that would prefer to be on its own. Unfortunately they are being wiped out for their exotic meat and Chinese medicine!



Go visit http://www.wildlifeatrisk.org/index.php?lang=en to find out more. (Oh, and I stole this photo of thier Grey Langur)