In a conservation milestone, 10 Siamese crocodiles were released this month into Cambodia’s Virachey National Park for the first time, as part of a decades-long effort to save the critically endangered species. The Siamese crocodile is one of the world’s rarest crocodilians, with less than 1,000 individuals estimated to be surviving in the wild. The species hasn’t been sighted for more than 20 years in Virachey, one of Cambodia’s most remote national parks nestled in the northeastern corner of the kingdom on the border of Laos and Vietnam. Combined with recent record-breaking hatchings both in the wild and in captivity, as well as new records of releases into the Cardamom Mountains, conservationists hope to build a second species stronghold in Cambodia. “It is not every day in conservation that you can say you are achieving and seeing tangible results. This is one of those rare occasions,” said Pablo Sinovas, country director for the NGO Fauna & Flora in Cambodia, in an interview with Mongabay. “We are cautiously optimistic, but at the same time the species is still critically endangered and key wetland habitats across the region continue to decline.” Similar efforts to save the species are taking place in nations neighboring Cambodia, reducing the risk of extinction and inching towards the goal of downlisting the Siamese crocodile from its “critically endangered” status. Frank Rheindt, an associate professor in the National University of Singapore’s department of biological science, told Mongabay in an interview that reintroductions across its range “is key to…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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