Perth bear-keeper Matt Hunt nominated for Pride of Australia Medal Matt Hunt plays with new arrival Anita, a cub rescued from poachers. Picture: Free The Bears Fund Source: PerthNow A VOLUNTEERING holiday in Cambodia has turned into a 13-year labour of love for a Perth Zoo bear-keeper fighting to save the world's smallest and rarest bear from extinction. Now, Matt Hunt's efforts have been acknowledged after he was nominated for a Pride of Australia Medal. Mr Hunt manages a sanctuary run by Free The Bears Fund which houses 126 sun bears - mischievous animals known as "honey bears" because they love nothing more than climbing trees to raid bee hives for sweet treats. Named after a sunburst of white fur on their chests, the bears were once common in lowland forests of South-East Asia but are now threatened. Habitat clearing has decimated their numbers, while poaching supplies a trade in body parts for traditional medicine. Cubs are also captured and sold as pets. The jungles of Cambodia are a far cry from the United Kingdom where Mr Hunt studied animal husbandry before working as a bear-keeper at Perth Zoo. But a visit to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, 40km from the Cambodian capital, during a working holiday was an experience that changed his life. "I stopped off to volunteer for a few months that was 13 years ago and I'm still here," he said. What keeps me here is not only the very real need for the work we're doing, but also how much can be achieved and what an impact you can have. The 37-year-old oversees 25 staff as chief executive of Free the Bears Fund, a charity founded by Perth conservationist Mary Hutton that has worked with Cambodian authorities to house rescued bears since 1997. "They spend all day digging for termites, ripping apart termite nests, climbing trees and breaking into bee hives," Mr Hunt said. Every bear we have is a complete individual with a unique personality. A favourite bear is a recent arrival named Anita. The cub was rescued after being captured by a hunter who used wire to tie her to a tree, hoping her cries would lure her mother within gunshot range. "Over time she began to trust us, turning into one of the most playful and boisterous cubs we've ever had," Mr Hunt said. Some cubs were bought in with their eyes still shut, less than seven days old. We bottle feed them... then they'll go into a little play pen before going into a permanent nursery," he said. The sanctuary has 24 forested enclosures over seven hectares, each with pools, rocks, hammocks, climbing frames, lush vegetation and enrichment toys. It is hoped some bears will be released into the wild but habitat is disappearing fast in Cambodia and neighbouring Vietnam due to clearing for rubber plantations. Meanwhile, hunters target sun bears for their bile, gall bladders, bones and fat. Bear-paw soup remains a popular dish and claws and teeth are sold as souvenirs. Mr Hunt said an anti-poaching government taskforce meant enforcement was getting better but poachers are also becoming ``more organised and more lethal. The long-term forecast is not good. But we're fighting every step of the way," he said. Mr Hunt is nominated in the environment category for a Pride of Australia Medal - an initiative of News Corp Australia, publisher of The Sunday Times and PerthNow, to recognise our unsung heroes. See www.freethebears.org.au