A conservationist holds a baby Siamese crocodile in Pursat province, Cambodia, on Feb. 19, 2020. Ten baby Siamese crocodiles have been spotted in Cambodia, raising hopes that conservation efforts have achieved a breakthrough for a species once believed to be extinct in the wild, said Fauna & Flora International (FFI) on the press release on Wednesday. (FFI/Bianca Roberts/Handout via Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Ten baby Siamese crocodiles have been spotted in Cambodia, raising hopes that conservation efforts have achieved a breakthrough for a species once believed to be extinct in the wild, said Fauna & Flora International (FFI) on the press release on Wednesday.
The hatchlings were sighted in late January by FFI conservationists at the Veal Veng crocodile sanctuary, a protected part of a river in the Cardamom Mountains, Pursat province, the press release said.
It added that this was only the second time in a decade that baby Siamese crocodiles have been seen in the wild in Cambodia.
"This is a really significant moment and it feels like we have reached a turning point for the Siamese crocodile," said Pablo Sinovas, flagship species manager in Cambodia for FFI.
"For a species that for a long time was believed to be extinct in the wild to be breading and producing hatchlings is extremely exciting," he said.
Siamese Crocodile is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered, with just 250 individuals estimated to be surviving in the rivers of Cambodia.
According to the press release, an FFI team of scientists rediscovered the Siamese crocodile during surveys in the Cardamom mountains in southwest of Cambodia in 2000.
