Sre Ambel, Koh Kong - Conservationists from the Fisheries Administration (FiA), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and local nest protection team found two nests with 48 eggs of the Critically Endangered Siamese Crocodile at two wetlands in the Sre Ambel River system in Koh Kong Province early this week.
Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) is listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered, because its global population is declining at alarming rate. This species lives only in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and possibly Malaysia, Myanmar, and Indonesia. An estimated 100-300 wild adult Siamese Crocodiles live in Cambodia, making it the most important country for the species.
“In order to protect the eggs from seasonal flooding and illegal collection, the nest protection team has relocated all of the eggs to artificial nests in a village in Sre Ambel District, where they will be cared for until they hatch, which is likely to be within 65–80 days,” said Som Sitha, WCS Technical Advisor for the Sre Ambel Conservation Project. “After hatching, all of the hatchlings will be immediately released into the wild.’’
“Protecting the wetlands in the Sre Ambel River system is vital to ensure the survival of this important reptile species,” he said. In 2017, the team found one Siamese Crocodile nest of 19 eggs, which was the first nest for many years, and in 2018, they found three nests of 78 eggs.
Siamese Crocodile faces many threats to its survival. In Cambodia, threats include habitat loss and illegal hunting of adults, and collecting of hatchlings and eggs to supply crocodile farms in Cambodia and Thailand.
“The species is Critically Endangered and very rare in Cambodia. Habitat and nest protection is important to ensure the survival of this species. Egg and hatchling collection is an illegal activity under the Fisheries Law,” said In Hul, Deputy Director of Fisheries Conservation Department of FiA.
“Their habitats are so vulnerable through illegal land grabbing for agriculture. I encourage local community to help conserve the species by not destroying habitat and or collecting eggs and juveniles,” he said.
WCS would like to thank our current long-term donor Wildlife Reserves Singapore and former donor the Kering Foundation for providing financial support to the Siamese Crocodile Conservation project.
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For more information, please contact:
Som Sitha
Landscape Technical Advisor
Wildlife Conservation Society
Office: +855 23 219443
M: +855 89 542 333
ssom@wcs.org