Conservationists are hopeful for the critically endangered Siamese crocodile after sixty babies are born in the wild
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Flicking through the pages of any environmental magazine or website (and yes, this one included) can make for depressing reading. An apparently endless litany of creatures threatened with extinction. There are more than 45,000 species currently threatened with extinction, including 41 per cent of amphibians, 36 per cent of reef-building corals, 26 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of birds. We probably cannot save them all, so instead, we tend to focus on particular key species that we find particularly impressive, such as lions, elephants, gorillas, golden eagles and so on.
Crocodiles, however, are not a group of animals that are often included in many people’s ‘must save’ list. But that doesn’t mean these ancient creatures don’t need our help. And perhaps none more so than the Siamese crocodile. Once widespread in inland waterways across Southeast Asia, since the 1950s, the population of Siamese crocodiles has been decimated through the conversion of their watery homes to rice fields and hunting for the international crocodile skin trade. The result of all this is that this medium-sized crocodile, which is harmless to man, has now disappeared from 99 per cent of its former range. In fact, this relic from the age of the dinosaurs, is so rare that up until the year 2000 it was considered extinct in the wild. It was in that year, though, that a team from Fauna and Flora International rediscovered a small population living wild in the Cardamom mountains of Cambodia. Today there are an estimated 400 Siamese crocodiles left living in the wild.
Fortunately, though, there is a substantial population of captive Siamese crocodiles (although many of the million estimated captive ones are, in fact, hybrids), and from these, Fauna and Flora International, alongside Cambodian and international partners, have been able to start a re-wilding programme, which, it’s hoped will help secure the species. But now, there is further good news for this rarest of crocodiles. Sixty young from five separate nests have successfully hatched in Cambodia’s Cardamom National Park. It’s the most extensive record of this species breeding in the wild this century.
A group of local people discovered the nests in May 2024 in an area where captive-bred crocodiles had never been released. Very quickly, round-the-clock protection of the nests was established, and, at the end of June, the effort paid off, as sixty baby Siamese crocodiles successfully emerged from their nests.
One of the people to discover the nests was community warden, Toy Chorn, who said, ‘We have been working closely with Fauna & Flora to protect this critically endangered species for several years, and we were excited to have found these crocodile nests. This discovery indicates that our conservation efforts have paid off, and I believe that with our ongoing conservation efforts, the population of Siamese crocodiles will continue to increase in the future.’
Celebrating the arrival of the babies and urging for strong protection of the crocs’ habitat, Pablo Sinovas, Country Director, Fauna & Flora Cambodia Programme, said, ‘The recent discovery of wild nests emphasises the vital importance of safeguarding this area. With only a few hundred individuals estimated in the wild, the hatching of 60 new crocodiles is a tremendous boost. At a time when wetland biodiversity is declining rapidly across the region, it underscores the potential for natural recovery through sustained collaborative conservation efforts.’
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