10 Baby Siamese Crocs Spotted in the Cardamom Mountains
10 Baby Siamese Crocs Spotted in the Cardamom Mountains
Ten baby Siamese crocodiles have been sighted in the Veal Veng crocodile sanctuary in Pursat province for only the second time in a decade.
Fauna & Flora International said in a statement yesterday the hatchlings of ten baby Siamese crocodiles were spotted by conservationists in late January at the sanctuary, a protected part of the Stung Knong river, in Veal Veng district.
The statement said this is only the second time in a decade that baby Siamese crocodiles have been seen in the wild in Cambodia.
It added that it was also the largest number of hatchlings ever sighted by conservationists in the country.
The Siamese crocodile is classed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list, with just 250 reptiles estimated to be surviving in the rivers of Cambodia.
An FFI team of scientists rediscovered the Siamese crocodile during surveys in the Cardamom Mountains in the south-west of Cambodia in 2000. Siamese crocodiles have disappeared from 99 percent of their original range.
Pursat provincial environment department director Pan Morokot said yesterday that the Siamese crocodile is a rare species that only exists in the Veal Veng district’s Cardamom Mountains.
“The discovery of these newly-hatched Siamese crocodiles is a good sign and we will continue to work with the partner organizations to further preserve and protect their habitat from illegal hunting,” Mr Morokot said.
