'Extinct' Siamese crocodiles lay first eggs in Cambodia (Via HerpDigest)

'Extinct' Siamese crocodiles lay first eggs in Cambodia - Success for new captive breeding programme

3/31/11- Cambodia's critically endangered Siamese crocodile has taken a step back from the brink of extinction after a captive breeding pair in Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre built a nest and laid their first eggs.

Previously Cambodia was home to two crocodile species. The salt water crocodile is now believed to have vanished from the country, while the Siamese crocodile, long thought to also be extinct, was rediscovered a decade ago in the Cardamom Mountains by a team from Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and the Forestry Administration of Cambodia. 

The Siamese crocodile has long been prized for its skin, and over-hunting has caused numbers to decline drastically. Estimates currently put the total wild population at fewer than 250.

Development of hydroelectric dams in current crocodile habitats look likely to create further threats for this species, leading conservationists to attempt a captive conservation breeding programme. 

Crocodiles are 15 years old before they breed
Crocodiles, unlike many reptiles, build a nest which the female guards throughout the incubation period. Generally, it takes a Siamese crocodile up to 15 years of age before it is sexually mature and able to breed. Keepers at the facility first noticed breeding activity in December last year.

Then in the middle of last month, the female gathering nesting material. Biologists have quickly examined the top layer of the nest, confirming there were at least 12 eggs; there is likely to be double this number.

'This is great news,' said Adam Starr, FFI's Project Manager of the Cambodia Crocodile Conservation Project. 'If we can successfully breed Siamese crocodiles in captivity and release the young in to the wild once they are large enough to be safe from predators it gives the species a fighting chance.'

The captive breeding facility at Phnom Tamao was only opened in September last year. Director of the rescue centre Nhek Ratnapich said: 'This is the first nest in the new facility and this shows that the crocodiles find it satisfactory.'