Nine hatchlings of Royal Turtle taken to conservation center in Cambodia

Nine eggs of Royal Turtle were hatched and taken to Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Centre in southwestern Cambodia for raising and possibly breeding in the future, a conservationist group said Wednesday.

The Royal Turtle, also known as Southern River Terrapin (Batagur affinis), is one of the world's most endangered freshwater turtles and listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List as Critically Endangered.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Cambodia said in a press release that a nest of Royal Turtle with 14 eggs was found by a villager along the Kaong River in Koh Kong province in February.

A Royal Turtle conservation team from the Fisheries Administration and the WCS went to check the nest, built a fence to protect the eggs, and hired a villager to guard the nest until those eggs were hatched, the press release said.

The turtle was believed extinct in Cambodia until a small population was re-discovered in Koh Kong province in 2000. Endit