Recently, in Hanoi, authorities convened a meeting to discuss the rescue of wild Siamese crocodiles living in the Song Hinh River in Phu Yen, due to the threat posed by a dam.
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Footprints of the Siamese crocodile were found during the survey in Song Hinh District, Phu Yen. |
On April 4, the Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands Program (MWBP) announced that on March 30, scientists, donors, and managers from relevant ministries discussed the rescue of the newly discovered wild freshwater crocodiles in Song Hinh District, Phu Yen.
The meeting was prompted by the fact that the habitat of these wild Siamese crocodiles is threatened by the soon-to-be operational Ba River dam.
These Siamese crocodiles, which live in the wild, were discovered for the first time in Vietnam. Previously, it was believed that crocodiles no longer existed in the wild in Vietnam.
Local villagers and fishermen in Song Hinh District first discovered these Siamese crocodiles in December 2004.
By June 2005, the MWBP, the Tropical Biology Institute (ITB), and the Flora and Fauna International (FFI) organization in Cambodia, in collaboration with local authorities, conducted a survey to investigate this information, confirming the existence of wild freshwater crocodiles in the area.
Subsequently, the Tropical Biology Institute confirmed that they found fresh traces of a wild freshwater crocodile weighing about 100 kg on the slope of a pond. Further observations led to the conclusion that there is certainly a small population of Siamese crocodiles living in the surveyed area.
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The Siamese crocodile, once thought to be extinct in the wild in Vietnam, has recently been discovered alive in the Song Hinh River, Phu Yen. In the photo: A Siamese crocodile being raised in Ho Chi Minh City. |
“This discovery is very important for Vietnam because this wild freshwater crocodile species (Crocodylus siamensis) was previously believed to be extinct in natural environments</em,” said Alvin Lopez, a Wetland Ecology expert from MWBP.
The Siamese crocodile is classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
What concerns scientists now is that the habitat of these crocodiles will soon become a reservoir in the Ba Ha hydroelectric dam system.
The dam is nearing completion, and when it becomes operational, the current habitat of the crocodiles will be submerged, leading to the loss of habitat and nesting sites for wild crocodiles.
However, scientists revealed that the previous Environmental Impact Assessment report for the Ba Ha hydroelectric project did not mention the existence of this rare animal species.
Huong Cat
