| Siamese crocodile | |
|---|---|
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| Siamese crocodile at Moscow Zoo | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Order: | Crocodilia |
| Superfamily: | Crocodyloidea |
| Family: | Crocodylidae |
| Genus: | Crocodylus |
| Species: | C. siamensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Crocodylus siamensis Schneider, 1801 | |
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| Synonyms | |
TheSiamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) is a medium-sized freshwatercrocodile native toIndonesia (East Kalimantan and possibly other areas historically),Laos,Cambodia,Thailand andVietnam. Historical records fromMyanmar remain unverified. The species iscritically endangered and alreadyextirpated from many regions. Its other common names include Siamese freshwater crocodile, Singapore small-grain, and soft-belly.[3]
Below is acladogram based on a 2018tip dating study usingmorphological, molecularDNA sequencing, andstratigraphicfossil age data.[4] This was revised in apaleogenomics study using DNA extracted from the extinctVoay.[5]Hall's New Guinea crocodile placement was suggested in 2023.[6]
| Crocodylus |
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The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized, freshwatercrocodilian, with a relatively broad, smooth snout and an elevated, bony crest behind each eye. Overall, it is olive-green, with some variation to dark-green.[7] Young individuals measure 1.2 to 1.5 m (3 ft 11 in – 4 ft 11 in) and weigh 6 to 12 kg (13 to 26 lb), growing to a length of 2.1 to 3 m (6 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in) and a weight of 40 to 120 kg (88 to 265 lb) as an adult.[8][9] Three individuals measuring 2.12 to 2.63 m (6 ft 11 in – 8 ft 8 in) and weighing 40–87 kg (88–192 lb) had bite force of 2,073–4,577 N (466–1,029 lbf).[10] Large male individuals reach 4 m (13 ft 1 in) and 350 kg (770 lb) in weight.[11]
The Siamese crocodile inhabits a wide range of freshwater habitats, including slow-movingrivers andstreams,lakes, seasonaloxbow lakes,marshes andswamps.[12]Since 2000, around 30 sites have been identified in Cambodia that harbour Siamese crocodiles, conservatively estimated to number between 200 and 400 individuals; small population survive in Thailand and Vietnam and inLaos.[2] In March 2005, conservationists found a nest containing juvenile Siamese crocodiles in the southern Lao province ofSavannakhet.[13]A small but important population lives inEast Kalimantan, Indonesia.[14]
Despite conservation concerns, many aspects ofC. siamensis life history in the wild remain unknown, particularly regarding its reproductive biology.[12]
Adults feed mainly onfish andsnakes, but also eatamphibians and smallmammals.[3]
Very little is known about thenatural history of this species in the wild, but females build mound-nests constructed from scraped-up plant debris mixed with mud.[7] In captivity, these crocodiles breed during the wet season (April to May), laying between 15 and 50 eggs, which are then guarded until they hatch.[15] Afterincubation, the female will assist her young as they break out of their eggs and then carry the hatchlings to the water in her jaws.[16]
Pure, unhybridised examples of this species are generally unaggressive towards humans,[17] and there are only four confirmed attacks, none of them fatal. One was defending its young,[18] another was probably defending itself,[19] one was provoked,[20] and the reason for the last is unclear.[21] A fifth attack in 1928 that was probably done by a Siamese crocodile was fatal, with the victim being a child.[22]
Siamese crocodiles are under threat from human disturbance and habitat occupation, which is forcing remaining populations to the edges of their former range.[15] Extinct from 99% of its original range, the Siamese crocodile is considered one of the least studied and most critically endangered crocodilians in the world.[12] Although few wild populations remain, more than 700,000C. siamensis are held on commercialcrocodile farms in Southeast Asia.[12]
In 1992, it was thought to be extremely close to or fullyextinct in the wild until 2000 when scientists fromFauna and Flora International and the Government of Cambodia's Forestry Administration confirmed the presence of Siamese crocodiles in theCardamom Mountains in southwest Cambodia.[23] There are no recent records inMalaysia,Burma orBrunei.[24]
Factors causingloss of habitat include conversion of wetlands for agriculture, use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides in rice production, and an increase of the cattle population.[25] The effects of warfare stemming from the conflicts in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during theVietnam War (from land mines to aerial bombardment) have also been factored.[26]
Many river systems, including those in protected areas, havehydroelectric power dams approved or proposed, which are likely to cause the loss of about half of the remaining breeding colonies within the next ten years.[12] One cause forhabitat degradation via hydrological changes, for the Siamese crocodile, is the implementation of dams on the upperMekong River and its major tributaries.[27] Potential impacts of dam construction include wetland loss and altered flooding cycle with a dry season flow 50% greater than under natural conditions.[28]
Illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms is an ongoing threat, as well as incidental capture/drowning infishing nets and traps.[12] The Siamese crocodile currently has extremely low and fragmented remaining populations with little proven reproduction in the wild.[29]
Siamese crocodiles have historically been captured for skins and to stock commercial crocodile farms. In 1945, skin hunting for commercial farms was banned by the French colonial administration of Cambodia.[30] In the late 1940s, populations spurred the development of farms and harvesting wild crocodiles for stocking these farms.[31] Protection was abolished by theKhmer Rouge, but later reinstated under Article 18 of the Fishery Law of 1987, which "forbids the catching, selling, and transportation of...[wild] crocodiles..."[30]
Crocodile farming now has a huge economic impact in the provinces surrounding Tonle Sap, where 396 farms held over 20,000 crocodiles in 1998.[30] Many crocodiles were exported from Cambodia since the mid-1980s to stock commercial farms in Thailand, Vietnam, and China.[32]
Despite legal protection, a profitable market exists for the capture and sale of crocodiles to farms since the early 1980s.[32] Chronic hunting has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.[29]
This crocodile is classified ascritically endangered on theIUCN Red List, and is listed on Appendix I ofCITES.[2] It is one of the most endangered crocodiles in the wild, although it is extensively bred in captivity.[15]
YayasanUlin (The Ironwood Foundation) ran a small project to conserve an important wetland habitat in the area of East Kalimantan which is known to contain the crocodiles.[33]
In CambodiaFauna and Flora International and the Government of Cambodia's Forestry Administration have established the Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Programme for the protection and recovery of Siamese crocodiles. This programme works with a network of indigenous villages who are helping to protect key sites such as Veal Veng Marsh (Veal Veng District), the Tatai River (Thmar Bang District) and the Araeng River. The latter is considered to have the second largest population of Siamese crocodiles in the world, but is currently threatened by the proposed construction of a massive dam in the river. During the heavy monsoon period of June–November, Siamese crocodiles take advantage of the increase in water levels to move out of the river and onto large lakes and other local bodies of water, returning to their original habitat once water levels start receding back to their usual levels.[34]
The Cambodian Crocodile Conservation Programme conducted DNA analysis of 69 crocodiles inPhnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre in Cambodia 2009, and found 35 of them were purebredC. siamensis. Conservationists from the Forestry Administration andFauna and Flora International subsequently launched a conservation breeding program at the Centre. Since 2012, approximately 50 purebred Cambodian Siamese crocodiles have been released into community-protected areas to reinforce the depleted wild populations.[35]
Poaching is a severe threat to this species, with the value of wild Siamese crocodiles reaching hundreds of dollars in the black market, where they are illegally taken into crocodile farms and hybridized with other, larger species.[36] The total wild population is unknown, since most groups are in isolated areas where access is extremely complicated. A number of captively held individuals are the result of hybridization with thesaltwater crocodile, but several thousand "pure" individuals do exist in captivity, and are regularly bred at crocodile farms, especially in Thailand.
Pang Sida National Park in Thailand, near Cambodia, has a project to reintroduce Siamese crocodile into the wild. A number of young crocodiles have been released into a small and remote river in the park, not accessible to visitors.[37]
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is working with thegovernment of Laos on a new programme to save this critically endangered crocodile and its wetland habitat. In August, 2011, a press release announced the successful hatching of a clutch of 20 Siamese crocodiles. These eggs were then incubated at theLaos Zoo. This project represents a new effort by WCS to conserve the biodiversity and habitat of Laos'Savannakhet Province, promotes conservation of biodiversity for the whole landscape, and relies on community involvement from local residents.[38]
In September 2021, eight hatchlings were found in a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Cambodia.[39]
InCambodia'sSouthern Cardamom National Park, sixty Siamese crocodiles from five distinct nests successfully hatched in July 2024. This marks the largest wild breeding record of the species this century and significantly enhances the survival prospects of this critically endangered reptile.[40][41]
High priority projects include:[42]
Other projects include:[34]
AMalay folktale features a crocodile that is outwitted by a mouse-deer and buffaloes.[43]
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