Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus Siamensis)
Now there I was peacefully lumbering across my local river bank in Thailand, when I bumped into a bunch of crazed scientists with cameras flashing and behaving like I was some Hollywood star on the red carpet at the Oscars.
Although I was happy to pose for a short while I did wonder what all the fuss was about. Well, it turns out these people were from the Wildlife Conservation Society looking for tigers (not many of them about these days, I can tell you) when I stepped into the frame.
As it turns out, apparently, there aren't too many of my kind about either these days. In fact they thought I was completely extinct in Thailand (I had noticed girl-friends were a bit thin on the ground). Apparently I have a few relatives that live in the wild across the border in Cambodia, but apart from that the rest of my relatives spend their lives being farmed for handbags. Imagine that, living your life in captivity and finishing up as a handbag.
The IUCN Red List marks us as being critically endangered - things are bad!
What can you do? Well it's the loss of our habitat that's the real problem. We live in tropical areas, and they seem to be cutting down the forests faster than it seems sensible, so encourage your parents not to buy anything made from a tropical hardwood.
If you're feeling in a campaigning mood, wear my T-shirt and tell everyone we must be saved. Tell them that although I look fierce, I am not really I won't attack you unless you attack me and I only eat fish. The biodiversity of the region I live in depends on me and my kind being there.
Yes I like it - lets all say it together 'Save the Siamese Crocodile!' Bring on the photographers and I will smile like a Hollywood star.
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