The wildlife of Cambodia is very diverse with at least 162 mammal species, 600 bird species, 176 reptile species (including 89 subspecies), 900 freshwater fish species, 670 invertebrate species, and more than 3000 plant species. A single protected area, Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, is known to support more than 950 total species, including 75 species that are listed as globally threatened on the IUCN Red List. An unknown amount of species remains to be described by science, especially the insect group of butterflies and moths, collectively known as lepidopterans.
Many species in Cambodia, including several endemic ones, are recognized by the IUCN or World Conservation Union as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered due to deforestation and habitat destruction, poaching, the illegal wildlife trade, and farming, fishing, and forestry concessions. Intensive poaching may have already driven Cambodia's national animal, the kouprey, to extinction, wild tigers to extirpation, and Eld's deer, wild water buffaloes and hog deer are at critically low numbers.
Wildlife in Cambodia includes dholes, elephants, deer (sambar, Eld's deer, hog deer and muntjac), wild oxen (banteng and gaur), panthers, bears, and tigers. Cormorants, cranes, ibises, parrots, green peafowl, pheasants, and wild ducks are also found, and species of venomous snakes and constrictors are numerous. Deforestation, mining activities, and unregulated hunting, have diminished the country's wildlife diversity rapidly.
Cambodia also has many endangered species, including Asian elephant, Siamese crocodile, wild water buffalo, and the Germain's silver langur.
Much work is being done in this area to help conserve and protect Cambodia's unique wildlife. Wildlife conservation organizations operating in Cambodia include Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna and Flora International, BirdLife International, Wildlife Alliance, and many others. On 20 December 2016, 163 new animal species were reported in Southeast Asia including one known as the Klingon newt for its resemblance to a Klingon from Star Trek.
Fauna
Some animals native to Cambodia:
Mammals
Asian black bear
Asian elephant
Asian golden cat
Banteng - endangered
Binturong - vulnerable
Clouded leopard
Dhole
Douc langur
Eld's deer
Gaur - vulnerable
Hog badger - vulnerable
Hog deer
Indian muntjac
Irrawaddy dolphin
Kouprey - critically endangered
Leopard cat
Lesser false vampire bat
Marbled cat
Pileated gibbon - endangered
Rice-field rat
Sambar deer
Serow
Silvery lutung
Sun bear
Wild boar
Wild water buffalo - endangered
Reptiles
Asiatic softshell turtle
Batagur baska
Bengal monitor
Blood python
Burmese python
Cantor's giant soft-shelled turtle
Green sea turtle
Hawksbill turtle
Indotestudo elongata
Leatherback sea turtle - vulnerable
Manouria emys
Pelochelys cantorii
Ramphotyphlops braminus
Reticulated python
Saltwater crocodile
Siamese crocodile - critically endangered
Water monitor
Golden flying snake
Asian vine snake
Long-nosed whip snake
Many-spotted cat snake
Mangrove snake
Dog-toothed cat snake
Green cat snake
Kukri snakes
Radiated ratsnake
White-lipped pit viper
Large-eyed pit viper
Mountain pit viper
Malayan pit viper
Russell's viper
Monocled cobra
Indochinese spitting cobra
King cobra - vulnerable
Banded krait
Malayan krait
Red-headed krait
Red-tailed pipe snake
Sunbeam snake
Little file snake
Elephant trunk snake
Asian coral snakes
Tentacled snake
Sea snake
Sea krait
Fish
Asian arowana -
Barbus sp. Botia sp. Channa sp. (snakehead fishes) Danio sp. Labeo sp. Mekong freshwater stingray Mekong giant catfish - Pangasius sp. (catfishes) Pangio sp. (kuhli loach) Rasbora sp. Trichogaster sp.