Angkor Wildlife & Aquarium (AWA) is proud to celebrate a groundbreaking achievement in wildlife conservation—the first successful Siamese crocodile surrogacy, made possible through our partnership with Rising Phoenix.
In May 2026, AWA’s conservation team carefully transferred 10 fertile Siamese crocodile eggs from our conservation breeding programme to a wild nest at Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary. The nest belonged to a wild female Siamese crocodile that had been guarding infertile eggs.
The objective was simple yet ambitious: give captive-bred eggs the opportunity to be raised by a wild mother in their natural habitat.

The result exceeded expectations.
The female crocodile accepted the eggs, helped the hatchlings emerge from the nest, and later guided her adoptive young safely to a nearby wetland. This marks the first documented successful Siamese crocodile surrogacy and represents a significant milestone in efforts to recover this critically endangered species.
Although Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area, Siamese crocodile nests still face many natural threats. Predators such as wild boars, Asian water monitors, and snakes frequently destroy nests before the eggs have a chance to hatch. By placing fertile eggs into the nest of a wild, attentive mother at exactly the right stage of development, conservationists were able to improve the hatchlings’ chances of survival while allowing them to begin life in the wild.
This achievement demonstrates the power of collaboration between ex-situ and in-situ conservation. AWA’s breeding programme provided healthy fertile eggs, while Rising Phoenix’s field expertise and long-term monitoring made it possible to identify the ideal nest and carefully time the transfer.
While this is only one step in the long-term recovery of the Siamese crocodile, it offers renewed hope for the future of Cambodia’s native wildlife and provides valuable knowledge that may support future conservation efforts.
At Angkor Wildlife & Aquarium, we remain committed to protecting Cambodia’s unique biodiversity through conservation breeding, research, education, and partnerships that create lasting impacts for wildlife.
Together, we are giving the Siamese crocodile a second chance—one hatchling at a time.






























