It is called the "Royal Turtle." It is Batagur affinis, the Southern River Turtle. Its natural habitat was limited to the larger river systems and estuaries of the Gulf of Thailand. The turtle's eggs are said to be so delicious that they were once considered a delicacy reserved only for the royal family. But this status did not save it from extinction. The joy of its rediscovery in 2001 was all the greater. In Cambodia, where it was long considered extinct, it now occurs only in the Sre Ambel River system. The species is extremely rare, and its status is correspondingly high.

Two institutions - one goal

With the discovery, conservation measures were immediately initiated to protect the rediscovered specimens. Among other things, a population monitoring program was initiated. This is being carried out by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in cooperation with the local fisheries authority. The primary purpose of monitoring is to locate turtle nests – to protect them from poachers. Since 2006, eggs have been collected from the wild and brought to the specially established Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Center (KKRCC). Here, the eggs are incubated, the young are raised, and then returned to the river system.

The principle hasn't changed since then

If a nest is found in the wild, the eggs are collected, incubated at the center, and the young are raised. Only then are they returned to the wild. This increases breeding success. However, to ensure a healthy ex-situ population alongside the in-situ population, some animals from 2006 were not returned. In species conservation, ex-situ measures for the conservation of biodiversity are those that take place through the keeping of a species, for example, in zoos or species conservation centers. In-situ measures protect the species in its habitat. Most of the eggs collected in 2006 were successfully hatched, and the animals were raised under the protection of the KKRCC.