[ad_1]
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – (AP) – Eight hatchlings of one of the world’s rarest crocodile species have been found in a wildlife reserve in eastern Cambodia, giving hope for survival in the wild.
Environmentalists found the baby Siamese crocodiles earlier this month in a river in Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary, Cambodia’s Environment Ministry and the World Wide Fund for Nature said on Tuesday.
The team found the young reptiles after spending four days searching habitat sites where, months earlier, they had discovered footprints and droppings.
The species was once widespread throughout Southeast Asia, but is now listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It had all but disappeared by the 1990s due to a combination of factors including poaching, habitat destruction and interbreeding with other crocodile species.
The government and WWF have jointly sought photographic evidence of a breeding population at Srepok Sanctuary without success for more than a decade, the wildlife organization said in a statement.
Environment Minister Say Samal hailed the find as “such rewarding news”, while WWF’s Milou Groenenberg called it “an important find for the species in Cambodia and around the world”.
The statement said the area is being guarded by rangers from the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary.
It is believed that only 400 Siamese crocodiles remain in the wild, most of them in Cambodia. In 2017, wildlife researchers found six eggs in Sre Ambel district, southern Koh Kong province, as they explored the reptile’s tracks, signs and droppings.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
[ad_2]
Source link