Associated Press
PHNOM TAMAO, Cambodia (AP) — The hatching of clutches of critically endangered Siamese crocodiles in Cambodia is an unlikely comeback, aided by an even unlikelier ally. Crocodile farmers who had nearly hunted the species to extinction in the first place now play a vital role in providing purebred reptiles for captive breeding. The thirst for crocodile skins for bags and other accessories had decimated populations to the extent that scientists thought they were extinct. A last enclave of the species was found in Cambodia’s remote Cardamom Mountains and a captive breeding program was begun to restore the species to its wild habitat, forests that play an important role in absorbing carbon emissions.
