Extinct royal turtles discovered in Cambodia

Conservationists say they've discovered a small colony of giant turtles in Cambodia, where they'd been thought to be extinct for more than a century.

The team from the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society found the giant estuarin terrapins nesting along a river bank in the southern Koh Kong province.

The giant or royal turtle was prized for its eggs and placed under the protection of the Cambodian royal family.

The scientists are working with Cambodian officials to set up a protection programme for the turtles, which are considered to be the most critically endangered type in Asia. There are less than thirty of these giant terrapins in India, and a few scattered populations in Malaysia.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service