Ten juvenile Siamese crocodiles have been released into Cambodia’s Virachey National Park — the first time the critically endangered species has been documented in that remote northeastern wilderness in more than 20 years. The release marks a new chapter in a quarter-century effort to pull one of the world’s rarest crocodilians back from the edge of extinction.
At a glance
- Siamese crocodile release: Ten juvenile crocodiles were released into Virachey National Park, pushing conservation group Fauna & Flora’s total number of released crocodiles in Cambodia to 206 since the program began.
- Acoustic telemetry: Each crocodile was implanted with a transmitter that emits soundwaves detected by receivers near the release site, giving conservationists a way to track survival and movement without direct observation.
- Wild hatchlings: In 2024 C.E., researchers recorded 60 wild crocodile hatchlings in a single sanctuary in the Cardamom Mountains — far more than had ever been found in one location before.
A species once thought lost
The Siamese crocodile was believed to be extinct in Cambodia until a Fauna & Flora survey rediscovered a small population in the Cardamom Mountains in 2000 C.E. That discovery launched the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Project, combining captive breeding with carefully planned wild releases.
In the 25 years since, Fauna & Flora has released 196 crocodiles into sanctuaries across the Cardamoms. The social enterprise Rising Phoenix added 41 more releases in Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary between 2022 C.E. and 2023 C.E. Virachey, spanning more than 3,300 square kilometers and nearly five times the size of Phnom Penh, now becomes a second potential stronghold for the species.
“It is not every day in conservation that you can say you are achieving and seeing tangible results,” said Pablo Sinovas, country director for Fauna & Flora in Cambodia. “This is one of those rare occasions.”
Why Virachey matters
Establishing a second stronghold is more than symbolic. With fewer than 1,000 Siamese crocodiles estimated to remain in the wild, any single disease outbreak, flood event, or habitat disruption in the Cardamoms could be catastrophic for the entire species. Virachey — tucked into Cambodia’s northeastern corner on the borders of Laos and Vietnam — offers different terrain, different water systems, and a buffer against that kind of concentrated risk.
Frank Rheindt, an associate professor in biological sciences at the National University of Singapore who has studied the species’ genomics, told Mongabay that reintroductions across the crocodile’s historical range are “key to the long-term global survival” of the species. He added that a broad matrix of populations becomes even more critical as climate change reshapes habitats over the coming decades.
Conservationists plan to return to Virachey at the end of 2025 C.E. to collect data from the acoustic receivers. If the crocodiles are moving — a sign they are alive and healthy — additional releases will follow.
Record hatchings, regional momentum
The Virachey release came alongside a remarkable run of breeding success. The Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, which houses the Siamese crocodile breeding program, recorded its largest-ever hatching of 180 crocodiles in 2024 C.E. — more than double any single year since the program began in 2009 C.E. Around 40 more juveniles are planned for release in the Cardamoms.
The momentum extends beyond Cambodia. In Thailand, the Thai Crocodile Farmer Association donates pure-bred Siamese crocodiles to government wildlife agencies for release into protected areas. In Laos, the Wildlife Conservation Society has released 170 crocodiles into the Xe Champhone Wetlands in Savannakhet province, with nearly 275 more in head-start programs and over 80 expected for release. Steven Platt, WCS Southeast Asia’s regional herpetologist, described the overall approach as an “inkblot strategy” — establish a population, protect the habitat, and let the species spread outward from each site over time.
“The larger a population is, the more resilient it is to extinction,” Platt said. “The populations are small and fragmented at the moment. Ideally, we want to join up these sites eventually, but the first step is always just getting them established.”
Still a long road ahead
The IUCN Red List has classified the Siamese crocodile as critically endangered for nearly 30 years. Historically, the skin trade decimated wild populations across Southeast Asia. Today, the primary threat has shifted to habitat loss — specifically the rapid degradation of wetlands, which are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth.
“Crocodiles rely on wetlands, which are one of the more threatened ecosystems globally and are shrinking across the globe,” Sinovas said. Wetland loss means that even a growing captive-bred population faces an uncertain future without sustained habitat protection. Conservationists are careful not to declare victory prematurely — the species remains critically endangered, and key habitats across the region continue to decline.
What the latest releases do offer is a model: patient, science-driven, cross-border cooperation producing measurable results over decades. For an animal that was written off as gone, that is not nothing.
“I hesitate at this point to call the Siamese crocodile a conservation ‘success story’ because habitat loss certainly remains a serious concern,” Platt said. “But the trajectory is moving in the right direction, and I am hopeful.”
Read more
For more on this story, see: Mongabay
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- Alzheimer’s risk cut in half by drug in landmark prevention trial
- Renewables now make up at least 49% of global power capacity
- The Good News for Humankind archive on Cambodia
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