Reptiles
Siamese Crocodile
Crocodylus siamensis
In the flooded forest of a Cambodian mountain stream, a Siamese crocodile lies half-submerged, one of the few wild animals left of a species that once ranged across Southeast Asia.
Overview
The Siamese crocodile, Crocodylus siamensis, is a Critically Endangered freshwater crocodile of the slow rivers, swamps, and lakes of Southeast Asia. Its collapse from a widespread species to a few hundred wild animals makes it one of the most threatened crocodilians in the world.
A crocodile on the brink
Hunting for skins, capture for crocodile farms, and loss of wetlands wiped out most Siamese crocodiles, and the last wild groups survive in a few protected sites.
Status
Critically Endangered, with a declining population.
Siamese Crocodile: common questions
How endangered is the Siamese crocodile?
It is Critically Endangered, reduced to fewer than a thousand wild individuals in scattered sites, mostly in Cambodia.
Why is hybridisation a problem?
Many farmed Siamese crocodiles have been crossed with other crocodile species, so pure animals are very rare.
How does the female protect her eggs?
She builds a mound nest of vegetation and soil, and guards it until the eggs hatch.
Where does the Siamese crocodile live?
It lives in slow rivers, swamps, and lakes of Southeast Asia, with the last strongholds in Cambodia and a few other sites.