Siamese crocodiles were listed as virtually extinct in the wild in 1992. But conservation efforts have brought them back, and the New York Times reported that 60 hatchlings were just born in the wild — the largest population born this century.
U.K.-based international nature conservation charity and nongovernmental organization Fauna & Flora has been working with an Indigenous population of Chorng people in the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia.
The organization is helping to protect the small population of Siamese crocodiles that the Indigenous people have been looking out for. The Chorng consider the animals, which are smaller than other types of crocodile and not aggressive toward humans, to be sacred.
Now, that work has paid off in the form of 60 hatchlings.
"The community members already protecting the sites is key to why this program works," said Pablo Sinovas, country director for the Cambodia program of Fauna & Flora, per the Times. "Instead of a group coming from the outside, we're supporting what's already there."
"The fact that we've been able to help these crocodiles recover and see this landmark breeding event, it's very significant," he told the Times.
Previous wild populations of Siamese crocodiles have fallen victim to many of the same human-caused problems as other species around the world: poaching, habitat destruction, and crossbreeding with other crocodile species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the species as critically endangered.
According to the Taipei Times, only around 1,000 Siamese crocodiles are thought to remain in the wild, with more than 300 of them in Cambodia. The addition of 60 hatchlings represents a massive increase in the number of Siamese crocodiles in the world.
The conservationists hope that this landmark event heralds good things for the future of the species. Fauna & Flora is also working on getting more Siamese crocodiles into the world through captive breeding, and the organization recently released an additional 50 juveniles into the wild that were bred in captivity.
Despite the challenges Siamese crocodiles have faced, "they're very resilient animals," Iri Gill, manager for coldblooded animals at Chester Zoo in England, told The New York Times. "If you give them the right protection, they will bounce back."
A few other species that conservationists are working to save from the brink of extinction include the eastern black rhino, the Iberian lynx, and a giant Amazonian fish called the arapaima.
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