Siamese crocodile breeding programme
The critically endangered Siamese crocodile was once widespread throughout much of mainland Southeast Asia. Read more about how we are helping.
The problem
The critically endangered Siamese crocodile was once widespread throughout much of mainland Southeast Asia. However, it is now absent from 99% of its former range and was feared to be extinct in the wild until its rediscovery during surveys in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains.
It remains one of the world’s rarest reptiles; reduced to small populations due to habitat loss from the expansion of rice farming, continued poaching, accidental entanglement in fishing gear and the construction of hydroelectric dams.
The solution
To reinstate a viable wild population, the Cambodia Crocodile Conservation Programme are focusing efforts on supporting the Siamese crocodile breeding programme at the Phnom Tamao Zoological Park and Wildlife Rescue Centre in Takeo Province, aiming to enhance the viability of the wild population through the release of at least 100 captive-reared crocodiles by 2020. The programme also trains and supports 30 local community rangers to monitor wild populations in five sites, ensuring that reintroduced individuals are thriving in their natural habitat.
The objective of the Cambodia Crocodile Conservation Programme is to restore Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia as a long-term viable population. Progress to date demonstrates that Cambodia is capable of amassing sufficient resources, skills, political will and popular support to address multiple threats, protect key waterways, and enable this large predator to make a comeback.