Overview

Following decades of hunting and habitat loss, the Siamese crocodile is one of the rarest crocodiles in the world. Populations of mature individuals have plummeted to fewer than 250 in the wild, mostly found in Cambodia. An FFI-led survey team rediscovered the species in early 2000 and immediately launched a plan to safeguard the remaining population. FFI established the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Programme in partnership with the Cambodian government to monitor the species, and to engage local communities in the protection of the wild population within crocodile sanctuaries. To bolster this population, Siamese crocodiles are also bred in captivity, and juveniles are released back into the wild in suitable sites in the Cardamom Mountains and other locations in Cambodia.

Our work

Since their presence was first confirmed in the Cardamom Mountains, more than 150 Siamese crocodiles have been recorded at 18 separate sites by FFI-led surveys. The Cambodian government moved swiftly to strengthen protection for the species, notably by gazetting a 400,000-hectare area of forest in the central Cardamoms. 

Working closely with communities is vital to this project. The crocodile sanctuaries are protected by local community wardens. We also carry out research and monitoring and advocate stricter controls over crocodile farming and trade.

In 2009, FFI helped to identify 35 pure-bred Siamese crocodiles in a local wildlife rescue centre and has since developed the first conservation breeding programme in the country – a vital source of genetic diversity for the reintroduction of the species into new areas. In 2012, the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Project launched a programme to release pure-bred individuals back into the wild, under the National Siamese Crocodile Reintroduction and Reinforcement Action Plan.

Objectives

In the short-term, we are looking to increase the size of the wild crocodile population in Cambodia by at least 150 individuals by 2025. This will be achieved mainly in the project’s focal areas in the Cardamom Mountains Landscape, where we believe the species has the best prospects of lasting protection and recovery, but additional areas are also being explored.

The long-term goal of this project is to establish a viable wild population of at least 10,000 crocodiles across multiple securely protected areas in Cambodia.

Key milestones

  • 2022

    Largest number of Siamese crocodiles (25 individuals) are released into the wild in a protected sanctuary. Since 2012, 136 captive-bred Siamese crocodiles have been released into the wild

  • 2022

    Satellite and acoustic telemetry, as well as eDNA, are used for the first time for the tracking and monitoring of Siamese crocodile populations

  • 2021

    Crocodile community wardens win the IUCN WCPA International Ranger Award

  • 2020

    A released female crocodile is found nesting in the wild, as well as ten juvenile Siamese crocodiles

  • 2012

    Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Project launched a programme to release pure-bred individuals back into the wild in suitable sites in the Cardamom Mountains, under the National Siamese Crocodile Reintroduction and Reinforcement Action Plan

  • 2009

    35 pure-bred Siamese crocodiles identified in a local wildlife rescue centre

  • 2000

    FFI-led survey team rediscover some of the remaining population of Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia

Project partners

  • Forestry Administration
  • Fisheries Administration
  • Ministry of Environment
  • Royal University of Phnom Penh
  • Royal Zoological Society of Scotland