BANTEAY MEANCHEY: Residents, authorities and fishermen in Banteay Meanchey Province are on high alert after two crocodiles were caught in the river near Phneat City this week.

Phneat Commune Chief Huot Savy confirmed to EAC News that a crocodile weighing about six kilos was caught in a fisherman’s net on July 31. He said this is the second one caught in Banteay Meanchey this week after a smaller crocodile was caught on Sunday, weighing about four kilos, in the Phneat River.

The commune chief called on the local people to be very careful, for the fishermen to pay extra attention to the nets they cast and for children to avoid playing in the river.

The Siamese crocodile is indigenous to Southeast Asia and was thought to have been extinct at the turn of the 21st century until it was spotted in the Cardamom Mountains around 20 years ago. Since then, conservationists have started many breed-and-release programs to grow the crocodile’s population. Additionally Cambodia is home to hundreds of crocodile farms that export the animals abroad. It is not clear where the two found in Banteay Meanchey come from.