The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized, freshwater species distinguished by a prominent bony crest at the back of its head.
Siamese crocodiles were once widespread throughout much of mainland Southeast Asia in a range of wetland habitats including slow-moving rivers, lakes, marshes and swamps. Regrettably, the species has now disappeared from 99% of its former range, and was widely feared to be extinct in the wild until its rediscovery during FFI-led surveys in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains.
Today it remains one of the world’s rarest reptiles, reduced to small, fragmented populations in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam.