Wildlife conservationists expressed joy to see 30 royal turtle eggs hatch at an artificial sand bank at the Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Centre (KKRCC) last week.
The team researching the Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins has spotted a newborn baby in Kratie province’s Sambor district, according to the Fisheries Administration’s Department of Fisheries Conservation.
First Eggs of Royal Turtle Laid in Captivity in Cambodia
Newswise Koh Kong, Cambodia (1 March 2021) –Seventy-one Royal Turtle eggs in five clutches were laid on an artificial sand bank at the Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Center (KKRCC) early last week. Images obtained from camera traps confirmed that the eggs were laid by five head-started Royal Turtles. This is the first time that Royal Turtles have laid eggs in captivity in Cambodia. Four of the turtles were head-started from wild nests laid in 2006 on the Sre Ambel River, and one was handed over to the KKRCC by people from Koh Kong town in 2017.
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Royal turtles are Cambodia’s official national reptile but they remain critically endangered in the wild and captive breeding is considered a must to restore their numbers. WCS Cambodia
Captive royal turtles lay first ever eggs
Tue, 2 March 2021
Five endangered royal turtles raised at the Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Centre (KKRCC) have now laid 71 eggs – marking the first time this particular species of turtle has ever laid eggs while in captivity at the centre – according to a press release from the Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia (WCS Cambodia).
The royal turtle is the official national reptile of Cambodia.
Leak Ratna, an official from WCS Cambodia, said that in the past two weeks the five turtles had laid 71 eggs on the artificial beach at the KKRCC. He said all of the eggs were laid by the group of royal turtles that the team had brought to raise at the centre 10 years ago.