PHNOM PENH, March 2, 2021 (BSS/XINHUA) – Seventy-one rare Royal Turtle
eggs in five clutches were laid on an artificial sandbank at the Koh Kong
Reptile Conservation Center (KKRCC) in southwest Cambodia’s Koh Kong province
last week, a conservationist group said on Tuesday.
The Royal Turtle, also known as Southern River Terrapin, is one of the
world’s 25 most endangered freshwater turtles and tortoises, and it is listed
on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as
Critically Endangered.
Images obtained from camera traps confirmed that the eggs were laid by
five head-started Royal Turtles, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said
in a press statement, adding that this is the first time that Royal Turtles
have laid eggs in captivity in Cambodia.
“It’s the first time that the captive female Royal Turtles have ever
laid eggs since they were head-started at the center in 2006,” said Som
Sitha, WCS Koh Kong and Mekong Conservation Project manager. “The team will
make artificial nests for incubation purposes or leave them as they are.”
Steven G. Platt, associate conservation herpetologist for WCS in
Southeast Asia, said this is an incredibly exciting and important event,
given the extreme rarity of this species in the wild.
“Captive breeding is a conservation milestone for the recovery of the
Royal Turtle in Cambodia,” he said. “We anticipate soon being able to produce
large numbers of Royal Turtles in captivity and releasing them back into the
wild.”
Ouk Vibol, director of the Department of Cambodia’s Fisheries
Conservation, said he was pleased to see this great result.
“We strongly encourage and support the continuation of these research
activities for a better result in the future and we hope this species will
survive for our next generation,” he said.
The Royal Turtle has been designated as Cambodia’s National Reptile by a
Royal Decree issued in 2005.