Researchers in Cambodia were excited when they came across six eggs of the rare Siamese Crocodile as they are now optimistic of the continuing survival of the species. They discovered the eggs in Sre Ambel district in the southern province of Koh Kong as they were exploring for tracks, signs and dung of the reptile.

The Wild Life Conservation Society based in New York along with Fisheries Administration employees and local residents chanced on the eggs in what is said to be the first Siamese Crocodile nest recorded in six years of research and protection in the Sre Ambel area.

These crocodiles are mainly found in Cambodia and they also exist in some parts of Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The estimated global population of this reptile,  which is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature is just 410 and their numbers are rapidly shrinking. 

A staff member of the Fisheries Administration said that the eggs have been moved to a safe place where their progress could be tracked, else they might be subjected to threats like illegal hunting. Since last two decades these crocodiles have been hunted down and their eggs are collected and sold to crocodile farms in Cambodia and Thailand.

Lack of regulations on crocodile farming and trading, loss of habitats and low chance of breeding due to decline in numbers have all lead to the Siamese Crocdiles becoming a critically endangered species.