How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia
The hatching of clutches of critically endangered Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia is an unlikely comeback, aided by an even unlikelier ally
By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and ANTON L. DELGADO
Published - Oct 23, 2024, 06:49 AM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 06:05 PM EST
PHNOM TAMAO, Cambodia (AP) — A tiny snout poked out to widen the crack of the slowly shattering eggshell.
The Siamese crocodile was taking its time, lagging others that had already wriggled out, chirping, into the sand. Adults can be up to 4 meters (13 feet) long and weigh up to 350 kilogram (770 pounds). They have few natural predators. But these hatchlings — each roughly the size of a New York hotdog — are vulnerable and their chorus of shrill calls was a signal for mothers to protect them and for stragglers to catch up.
Hor Vichet, a zookeeper at the nonprofit Fauna and Flora's breeding center for the critically endangered reptiles in Cambodia’s Phnom Tamao, broke the rest of the shell.
“It's time to go into the world,” he said.
