Laos communities bring rare crocodiles back from brink

Community conservation is helping to bring back one of the world’s rarest crocodiles from the edge of extinction in central Laos. The Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) has been precipitously declining over the past century due to habitat loss and people poaching the animals and their eggs. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers them critically endangered, with fewer than 1,000 adults believed to be alive in the wild. But the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and communities in the Xe Champhone wetlands of central Laos have been working since 2011 to protect nests, incubate eggs and raise recently hatched crocodiles in captivity before their release. These efforts have helped sustain what is likely the last stronghold for these crocodiles in Xe Champhone. “The teams build on long-held cultural beliefs that crocodiles are spiritual guardians, creating powerful incentives for protection,” said Santi Saypanya, WCS Laos’ director, in a press release. The full report of Siamese crocodiles’ recovery in this region was published recently in the IUCN’s Crocodile Specialist Newsletter.

Read more at the Wildlife Conservation Society.