60 rare Siamese crocodiles hatch in Cambodia’s Cardamom National Park

Rare Siamese crocodiles hatch in the wild, marking conservation success

This summer, sixty critically endangered Siamese crocodiles hatched in Cambodia’s Cardamom National Park, marking the largest wild breeding record for the species this century.

Cambodia’s Cardamom National Park said 60 critically endangered Siamese crocodiles hatched this summer.

Their births marked the largest record of the species breeding in the wild this century.

Fauna & Flora, an international nature conservation charity, said the Siamese crocodile is one of the world’s rarest. The estimated wild population is about 400 as a result of hunting and habitat loss.

The Siamese crocodile was rediscovered in the wild in 2000. Fauna & Flora then worked with the Cambodian government to come up with a breeding program to boost the species' population.

In the past 12 years, 196 Siamese crocodiles that were bred in captivity have been successfully released in the Cardamom Mountains.

A group of local people discovered three nests in an area where captive-bred crocodiles have never been released before in May 2024. That suggested that conservation efforts were working.

By June, 60 baby Siamese crocodiles had successfully hatched.

"The recent discovery of wild nests emphasizes the vital importance of safeguarding this area," Pablo Sinovas, director of the Fauna & Flora Cambodia Program, told Storyful. "With only a few hundred individuals estimated in the wild, the hatching of 60 new crocodiles is a tremendous boost."