KOH KONG - After eight years of careful love and attention in a conservation centre, 13 female and 12 male adult turtles were released into the Sre Ambel river system on 13 November 2017. This is the turtles' natural habitat where it is hoped they will breed and prosper after their release. Since 2015, all released turtles are equipped with microchips and GPS trackers.

The Sre Ambel River system of Koh Kong’s province is one of the last remaining habitats for the royal turtle, or southern river terrapin, which has been Cambodia’s national reptile since 2005. It is only found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Cambodia, and figures on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature - the highest threat level possible - with only 500-700 turtles remaining in the world. They were believed to have become extinct in Cambodia until 2000, when they were rediscovered. Since then, Cambodian conservationists have released 187 turtles into the wild and there are cautious hopes that the species is making a recovery.
Release of the turtles with the Wildlife Conservation Society yesterday.

From cooking pot to conservation, a turtle’s tale
15 November 2017
A royal turtle once rescued from villagers who wanted to eat it was one of two handed over to a conservation centre yesterday.

The turtles had been raised by former Koh Kong provincial Fisheries Administration’s official Nay Ol, 60, for 17 years.
Tears welled up in his eyes when he spoke about his turtles during the inauguration of the Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Centre in Mondol Seima district.

One turtle weighed more than 30 kilos and was more than 50 years old. It was rescued in 2000 from villagers who were about to kill and cook it.
“I saw villagers mixing ingredients, so I asked them what they were cooking,” he said. “They replied that they would cook turtle.
“When I looked at the turtle, it was royal turtle,” he said, “So I asked to buy it from them. I felt so much pity for it.”

The villagers sold it for $25. It weighed about 20 kilos at the time. He took it to raise at his home in Koh Kong province...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5090529/coo ... tles-tale/

Nest of critically endangered ‘royal turtles’ discovered in Cambodia
19 February 2018
Wildlife experts in Cambodia had discovered a nest of 16 eggs built by the nearly extinct “royal turtle,” in the first such discovery this year, the non-profit Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said on Feb. 19.

The southern river terrapin, known in Cambodia as the “royal turtle” because its eggs were historically reserved for royalty, is one of the world’s 25 most endangered freshwater turtles, the WCS said.
Over the past two years, just three such nests had been found in Cambodia, it added.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4034177/nest ... -cambodia/

Releasing the turtles into the wild.

Wildlife Conservation Society

Critically endangered royal turtles in Cambodia on recovery: conservationist group
Source: Xinhua| 2018-10-05
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- After their release in November last year into their natural habitat in Sre Ambel river in southwest Cambodia's Koh Kong province, all 25 nearly-extinct royal turtles have been detected, a conservationist group said on Friday.

"This shows that recovery efforts for the only remaining wild population of the Southern River Terrapin are showing signs of success," the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said in a press statement.

The statement said the monitoring data indicated that one royal turtle had travelled to another river which is nearly 100 km away from the release site, and the other was captured by a fisherman and handed over to the project.

"The released turtles are now dispersing over a wider area," it said.

The royal turtle, also known as Southern River Terrapin, is one of the world's 25 most endangered freshwater turtles and tortoises and is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered.

The species lives only in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, and its global wild population numbers are less than 500 mature individuals.

The royal turtle was designated as Cambodia's National Reptile by Royal Decree in 2005.

Due to illegal fishing and sand mining along the Sre Ambel river, the only place the species is still found in Cambodia, the species is at great risk of extinction, the statement said.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-1 ... 513519.htm

Thursday, February 20, 2020
51 eggs of endangered Royal Turtle found in Cambodian river
PHNOM PENH, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Three nests with 51 eggs of the nearly-extinct Royal Turtle have been found at wetlands in the Sre Ambel River in southwestern Cambodia's Koh Kong province, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said in a press release on Wednesday.

The eggs were spotted by conservationists from the Fisheries Administration, WCS and a local nest protection team, the release said.

Royal Turtle, also known as Southern River Terrapin (Batagur affinis), is one of the world's 25 most endangered freshwater turtles and tortoises. It is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as "critically endangered".

"The Sre Ambel River System is key to the survival of Royal Turtle because it has beaches, flooded forest and mangrove where they can find their food and breed," said WCS country program director Ken Sereyrotha.

He said it had been the first time since 2016 that up to three nests were discovered, as in the last four years, only one nest was found each year.

"The increase in the nests resulted from the decision made by the government to end sand dredging business and include the Sre Ambel River System as a protected area for Royal Turtles, and the recent release of 86 Royal Turtles into the river," he said.

Royal Turtle has been designated as Cambodia's National Reptile by a Royal Decree issued in 2005.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-0 ... 778167.htm

23 rare Royal Turtles hatch in natural habitat in SW Cambodia
Source: Xinhua| 2020-05-19 18:15:16|Editor: huaxia

PHNOM PENH, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-three Cambodia's nearly-extinct Royal Turtles have hatched from their nests in the Sre Ambel River in southwest Koh Kong province this year, a conservationist group said on Tuesday.

The number of the species hatchlings this year was more than the total number hatched in the previous three years combined, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Cambodia said in a press statement.

The 23 hatchlings were from three Royal Turtle nests, found and protected by a community nest protection team on two sand beaches along the river, the statement said, adding that among the total of 51 eggs, 23 eggs hatched and it is not known why the other eggs failed.

WCS attributed this success to conservation efforts by the local community, the ban on sand dredging along the river and the inclusion of the river as a fisheries management and conservation area for Royal Turtle and Siamese Crocodile, it said.

"This increase in the number of hatchlings shows that conservationists, working with local communities and government partners, can achieve measurable conservation successes," Ken Sereyrotha, WCS country program director said.

"With ongoing support and cooperation, we are hopeful that the number of Royal Turtles will continue to increase in the coming years," he added.

The Royal Turtle, also known as Southern River Terrapin (Batagur affinis), is one of the world's 25 most threatened freshwater turtles and tortoises, the statement said, adding that it is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as critically endangered and was designated as Cambodia's National Reptile by a Royal Decree issued in 2005.

Ouk Vibol, director of Fisheries Conservation Department of the Fisheries Administration, said he was really happy that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries issued an edict last year to ban all fishing and sand dredging activities along the river.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapa ... 069916.htm

Cambodian conservationists hopeful for revival of rare royal turtle
Reuters
Phnom Penh, Cambodia / Fri, May 22, 2020 / 08:05 am
Conservationists in Cambodia are celebrating the hatching of more critically endangered turtles in recent months than the past three years combined, owing to a preservation drive and a halt on sand-dredging.

Some 23 rare royal turtles have hatched recently in southwestern Koh Kong province, the only place in Cambodia where the turtles can be found, including on a river beach not been used for nesting in 13 years.

The hatching of 23 of the 51 eggs found is boosting hopes of survival for a threatened species that was designated Cambodia's national reptile and was believed to be extinct two decades ago.

"With ongoing support and cooperation, we are hopeful that the number of turtles will continue to increase in the coming years," said Ken Sereyrotha, country program director for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Illegal fishing, reduction of flooded woodlands and sand-dredging along the Sre Ambel river system has been blamed for loss of habitat for the turtle, also known as the southern river terrapin. A law was introduced in 2017 to stop sand-dredging.

The baby turtles are each only a few inches long and were measured and weighed by the group. They will be looked after at a conservation center before being released into the wild.
https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/202 ... urtle.html

Cambodia News(Phnom Penh): Some local people have returned two 14-year-old Royal Turtles (Batagur affinis) to the Ministry of the Environment after buying them from illegal fishermen.

Mr. Neth Pheaktra, the secretary and the spokesman of the environment reported that the two Royal Turtles were sent to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). He requested that Cambodians stop eating, hunting, and trafficking wildlife.

Mr. Sor Sitha, the director of WCS concluded that those Royal Turtles are aged about 14 years old and they could live until about 100 years old.

At the moment, there are 450 Royal Turtles that are being kept in animal rescue and conservation centers. Another 86 adolescent turtles were released into a conservation area.
The Royal Turtle species is on the red list of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is one of 25 types of endangered turtles.

10 Royal Turtles Released into Natural Habitat
AKP Phnom Penh, January 28, 2021--

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the Department of Fisheries Conservation of the Fisheries Administration at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in collaboration with Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS), today released ten critically endangered Royal Turtles (Batagur affinis) into the Sre Ambel River system in Chamkar Luong commune, Kampong Seila district of Preah Sihanouk province.

According to WCS, the release was made under a jointly funded project supported by the European Union (EU), WRS, the Rainforest Trust, the U.S. Forest Service and Turtle Survival Alliance implemented by WCS in partnership with the Fisheries Administration (FiA).

This Royal Turtle release is the result of nearly two decades of turtle nest protection, care for the young turtles in the Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Centre, and community-based protection of turtles on the Sre Ambel River, funded by WRS and other donors. This is the fifth release of Royal Turtles into the Sre Ambel River system, following releases made in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 making a total of 96 turtles - returned to the wild.

“We highly appreciate the participation of local authorities, community and WCS in the release ceremony, who have been working together to conserve critically endangered turtles so that they can persist in the natural water bodies,” said Mr. Ouk Vibol, Director of Department of Fisheries Conservation. “All stakeholders should continue their efforts to conserve the threatened species, and those who still trade protected species will face legal action.”

All ten Royal Turtles, globally known as Southern River Terrapin (Batagur affinis), were collected immediately after emerging from their nests along the Sre Ambel River and Kampong Leu River in Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk provinces from 2006 to 2015 and sent to Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Centre in Tuol Korki village, Tuol Korki commune of Mondul Seima district, where they have been cared for and prepared for a life in the wild, said Mr. Som Sitha, WCS Landscape Project Manager.
- AKP
Photos WCS

Koh Kong: Success! The first royal turtles raised in the spawning center laid 71 eggs.

Last week, five royal turtles laid a total of 71 eggs on an artificial beach in the Koh Kong Provincial Reptile Conservation Center. According to the images obtained from the automatic animal camera, all the turtle eggs were the eggs of five royal turtles that the team raised at the center more than 10 years ago, of which 4 were taken from the beach in the Prek Sre Ambel system immediately after hatching, and the other one was handed over by the people of Koh Kong province in 2017.
Read more: https://bit.ly/2MBly8r
From Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia.