Critically Endangered
Siamese crocodile
Crocodylus siamensis
The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Kalimantan in Indonesia.
Appearance
The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized, freshwater crocodilian, 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.
Young individuals measure 1.2–1.5 m (3.9–4.9 ft) and weigh 6–12 kg (13–26 lb), growing to a length of 2.1–3 m (6.9–9.8 ft) and a weight of 40–120 kg (88–265 lb) as an adult.
Range and habitat
The Siamese crocodile inhabits a wide range of freshwater habitats, among them slow-moving rivers and streams, lakes, seasonal oxbow lakes, marshes and swamps. In March 2005, conservationists found a nest containing juvenile Siamese crocodiles in the southern Lao province of Savannakhet. Factors causing loss of habitat include conversion of wetlands for agriculture, use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides in rice production, and an increase of the cattle population.
In September 2021, eight hatchlings were found in a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Cambodia.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet and breeding
Adults feed mainly on fish and snakes, but also eat amphibians and small mammals. In captivity, these crocodiles breed during the wet season (April to May), laying between 15 and 50 eggs, that are then guarded until they hatch.
In crisis
It is critically endangered. The Siamese crocodile is one of the most endangered crocodiles. The global population has been severely reduced by over 80% since the 1940s, mainly due to hunting, and all population units are small and fragmented. It is threatened by human disturbance and habitat occupation, that is forcing remaining populations to the edges of their former range.
In 1992, it was thought to be extremely close to or fully extinct in the wild until 2000 when scientists from Fauna and Flora International and the Government of Cambodia's Forestry Administration confirmed the presence of Siamese crocodiles in the Cardamom Mountains in southwest Cambodia. The Siamese crocodile is classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, and is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
Siamese crocodile is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Siamese crocodile, Wikidata item Q208277. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
