Creature of folklore — once feared extinct — seen sunbathing in Thailand, video shows
In a forest of eastern Thailand, a rare predator meandered along a rocky riverbank and stopped to rest in the sunshine. A nearby trail camera captured its every move.
A team of rangers set out into Yod Dom Wildlife Sanctuary on a routine survey and patrol project in early February. Their responsibilities varied from checking trail cameras to environmental research to preventing illegal activity, park officials said in a Feb. 13 Facebook post.
During the trek, the team stopped at a trail camera near a river to review its recent footage. To their surprise, it had recorded a sighting of a Siamese crocodile.
The video footage, originally taken in December and shared by Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation in a Feb. 16 Facebook post, shows the crocodile lumbering past and sunbathing on the boulders.
Siamese crocodiles are “medium-sized,” freshwater reptiles native to southeast Asia, according to an article from the department. They are predators, mainly eating “fish and snakes,” but “generally unaggressive towards humans,” with “only four confirmed attacks, none of them fatal.”
Siamese crocodiles are also creatures of Thai folklore, officials said. One tale includes “a magic crocodile called Chalawan (“ชาละวัน”) that can transform into a man.”
The species was historically widespread in Thailand but is now rarely seen in the wild, the department said.
In the 1990s, Siamese crocodiles were “believed to be extremely close to or fully extinct in the wild,” wildlife officials said. By 2000, scientists located a few small wild populations. Today, the species’ situation has improved, but it remains critically endangered and “extinct from 99% of its original range” due to habitat loss and hunting.
The recent crocodile sighting at Yod Dom Wildlife Sanctuary is the area’s second within a year and viewed as a sign that conservation efforts are working, the department said.
Rangers plan to continue monitoring the area and raising awareness among nearby communities.
Yod Dom Wildlife Sanctuary is in eastern Thailand and near the border with Cambodia and Laos.
Google Translate was used to translate the Facebook posts from Yod Dom Wildlife Sanctuary and Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 8:35 AM with the headline "Creature of folklore — once feared extinct — seen sunbathing in Thailand, video shows."
