Crocodiles tend to be given a bad press. But that notoriety does at least bring these much-maligned and misunderstood animals into the public consciousness. From alligators in the Everglades to Australia's saltwater crocs and the wildebeest-grabbing Nile crocs, stories abound of narrow escapes from man-eating monsters.

Spare a thought for the Siamese crocodile. This little-known, unheralded reptile is neither monstrous nor man-eating. And in this case, the only noteworthy narrow escape has been on the part of the crocodile itself, from the jaws of extinction.

Once widespread in the wetlands of Southeast Asia, it has disappeared from 99% of its former range. The Siamese crocodile was feared to be extinct in the wild until a Fauna & Flora-led survey team rediscovered it in Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains.

Community-led conservation of Siamese crocodiles

It's no accident that the Siamese crocodiles in this remote region escaped the fate of so many of their kind. The local Indigenous People revere this reptile, and it is taboo to kill or hurt one. Unfortunately, the Siamese crocodile hasn't always been afforded that level of care in the wider world. Decades of hunting and habitat loss decimated the wild populations. It is one of the world's rarest reptiles and remains in urgent need of conservation attention.