Conserving Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia
The critically endangered Siamese crocodile is now extinct in 99% of its former range. FFI is working with the Cambodian government and local communities to safeguard the remaining wild crocodiles and their habitat by developing crocodile sanctuaries protected by local community wardens.
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.
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.
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.
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
Satellite and acoustic telemetry, as well as eDNA, are used for the first time for the tracking and monitoring of Siamese crocodile populations
Crocodile community wardens win the IUCN WCPA International Ranger Award
A released female crocodile is found nesting in the wild, as well as ten juvenile Siamese crocodiles
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
35 pure-bred Siamese crocodiles identified in a local wildlife rescue centre
FFI-led survey team rediscover some of the remaining population of Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia
Pablo Sinovas, Flagship Species Manager, Cambodia. [email protected]
With well over a century of conservation activity behind us, FFI has played a pivotal role in safeguarding the future of an incredible variety of species in all corners of the globe, from British bats to Mexican cacti, iguanas in the Bahamas and tree snails from Tahiti. But we cannot do this work alone. Please support our vital work to help save species from the brink of extinction.
We are grateful for financial support from the Species Fund, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species, the Prince Bernhard Fund for Nature, and the Czech Association for Breeding and Conservation of Crocodilians
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