Hoan kiem turtle

The last known female Swinhoe's softshell turtle—the most endangered turtle species in the world—died in April 2019, leaving the last known male without a mate and the species headed for extinction, reports Harry Baker for In a positive turn of events, researchers discovered a wild female in Dong Mo Lake in Vietnam last October, offering a glimmer of hope for saving the species. Swinhoe’s softshell turtles, also known as the Hoan Kiem turtle or Yangtze giant softshell turtle, were pushed to the brink of extinction by habitat destruction and by hunters who sought the turtles' meat and eggs. As a result, the government legally protected the species in 2013, reports the 's Damian Carrington . While monitoring the lake, the team of conservationists managed to capture the nearly 190-pound giant, examine her, collecte blood samples and insert a microchip. To their relief, she was in great shape, and they later released her back into the lake that day, according to a "In a year full of bad news and sadness across the globe, the discovery of this female can offer all some hope that this species will be given another chance to survive," Hoang Bich Thuy, the country director for the Wildlife Conservation Society Vietnam, says in the press release. The team spent weeks monitoring the lake, hoping to find a Swinhoe's softshell turtle—and their efforts paid off. Not only did they discover and capture the female, but they also spotted a second, larger turtle in the same lake, which they...

January 18, 2021 The Legacy of Viet Nam’s Sacred Turtle - as seen by - People in Viet Nam know about the legend of the country’s most famous hero from the 15th century, Le Loi King, who was granted strength from a magic sword to defeat Ming occupation forces. During peacetime, a giant golden turtle emerged from the lake where Le Loi traveled to retrieve the weapon. The lake was later renamed as Hoan Kiem Lake or Lake of Returned Sword. The giant turtle has become the symbol of the country’s independence and prosperity. Indeed, enormous turtles have lived in Hoan Kiem Lake. These turtles were identified as Swinhoe’s softshell turtle ( Rafetus swinhoei), or Hoan Kiem turtle. Unfortunately, after the death of an individual in Viet Nam in 2016 and a female individual in China in 2019, there were only three known individuals left making it become the most endangered turtle in the world. A new hope came on October 22, 2020 as conservationists discovered a female individual in Dong Mo Lake in Ha Noi, Viet Nam and confirmed that it is definitively a Swinhoe’s softshell turtle. Authorities also believe there is at least one more of these turtles in Dong Mo Lake and another in nearby Xuan Khanh Lake in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. Ultimately, conservationists aim to ensure at least one male and female are given a chance to breed and recover this species. The discovery is an important step to ensure this turtle can return from the brink of extinction to keep the legend alive and inspire future ...

DNA tests have now confirmed the animal is a Rafetus swinhoei), the most endangered turtle in the world. Another turtle estimated to weigh 130kg was sighted in the lake, and conservationists hope that this could be another male. The only known male Swinhoe’s softshell turtle is at Suzhou zoo in China. Scientists aim to ensure that the turtles are given the chance to breed and save the species from the brink of extinction. The animal, known also as the Hoan Kiem turtle or Yangtze giant softshell turtle, has been driven to the brink by hunting for its meat and eggs, as well as by destruction of its habitat. The second Rafetus swinhoei turtle was discovered on Dong Mo Lake. Photograph: WCS Vietnam “This is the best news of the year, and quite possibly the last decade, for global turtle conservation,” said Andrew Walde, at the Turtle Survival Alliance, which advised the Vietnamese government on the Hoang Bich Thuy, country director for the Wildlife Swinhoe’s softshell turtle was given legal protection in Vietnam in 2013. “[Before] that time, if one was caught, its meat was shared with the whole family, relatives and the neighbourhood,” said Hoang, who added that many of the turtles were also hunted to sell to China. “Its eggs were also collected and soaked in salt, as local people believed turtle salted egg helped cure diarrhoea.” The conservationists spent weeks looking for the female turtle in the 1,400-hectare Dong Mo lake. She is one metre long and was captured for a day t...

A few months ago, on a sunny afternoon in northern Vietnam, I set off in a small fishing boat outfitted with a motorbike engine to find the world’s most endangered turtle. Of the planet’s four known remaining Yangtze giant softshells ( Rafetus swinhoei), only two reside in the wild. Both occupy separate lakes in northern Vietnam. The other two, the world’s sole surviving couple, live in a zoo in southern China; for years, scientists have been trying to breed them, unsuccessfully. (The male has a damaged penis.) The two wild turtles represent the final hope for the species. I had boarded the boat hoping to glimpse one of them in Dong Mo, a fourteen-hundred-hectare lake an hour or so west of Hanoi. I was joined by a group of Vietnamese conservationists allied with the The Yangtze giant softshell occupies a regal position in national lore. Legend has it that, in the fifteenth century, in a Hanoi lake called Hoan Kiem, the turtle was the keeper of a mythic sword used to liberate the country from Chinese invaders. Sightings are said to bring good fortune. In 2016, when Hoan Kiem’s sole softshell—which was nicknamed Cu Rua, or “great-grandfather turtle” in Vietnamese—was found dead, it made The turtle in Dong Mo is estimated to be forty or fifty years old, which is considered quite young. For the past eleven years, A.T.P. volunteers have been doing near-daily patrols on the lake, keeping an eye on the turtle and observing its behavioral patterns. The species lives up to its name...

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• Quyen, Duong Van; Coburn, Jewel Reinhart (1994). Beyond the East Wind: Legends and Folktales of Vietnam (5thed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Burn Hart and Co. pp.50–63. 0918060087. • Vo, Nghia M. (2012). Legends of Vietnam: An Analysis and Retelling of 88 Tales. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland and Company. pp.69–72, 103–107. • Bettleheim, Matthew P. (2012). "Swinhoe's Softshell Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei): The Legendary Sword Lake Turtle of Hoan Kiem Lake". Bibliotheca Herpetologica. 10 (1): 4. • Vo, Nghia M. (2012). Legends of Vietnam: An Analysis and Retelling of 88 Tales. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland and Co. pp.120–121.

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See HANOI, Vietnam — Veterinarians examined a rare giant turtle considered sacred by many Vietnamese at a makeshift hospital in Hanoi on Monday to check mysterious lesions afflicting one of the last four known members of its species. The giant soft-shell turtle, which has a shell the size of a desk and is estimated to weigh about 440 pounds, was pulled from a lake in the heart of the capital Sunday. Tests were being run to try to pinpoint what is ailing the creature, said Tim McCormack, program coordinator of the Asian Turtle Program. He said photos taken of it in a holding tank showed injuries on its legs and elsewhere, but it was not yet clear how serious they are. The animal is believed to be about 80 to 100 years old, though many Vietnamese believe it is the same mythical creature said to have helped King Le Loi fend off the Chinese nearly six centuries ago. It took 50 workers two hours Sunday to net the turtle, put it in a cage and pull it to a small island in Hoan Kiem Lake that was recently expanded and equipped with the small holding tank, known as the ‘turtle hospital.’ It is the first time anyone has captured the creature, which escaped through two nets during a similar rescue attempt last month. Thousands of onlookers crammed around the lake for a glimpse, which is considered lucky. The crowd whooped and clapped when the turtle was finally captured, but they were pu...

Hundreds of people are working around the clock to clean up a lake in the heart of Vietnam's capital in hopes of saving a rare, ailing giant turtle that is considered a sacred symbol of Hanoi. Some experts fear pollution at Hoan Kiem Lake is killing the giant freshwater turtle, which has a soft shell the size of a desk. It is one of the world's most-endangered species, with only four known to be alive worldwide. Teams of people are cleaning debris, pumping fresh water into the lake and using sandbags to expand a tiny island to serve as a "turtle hospital." The rescuers may even try to net the animal for the first time as part of the effort. The Hoan Kiem turtle is rooted in Vietnamese folklore, and some even believe the animal that lives in the lake today is the same mythical creature that helped a Vietnamese king fend off the Chinese nearly six centuries ago. Good luck It swims alone in the lake and in the past has been glimpsed only rarely sticking its wrinkled neck out of the water. But it has recently surfaced much more frequently, alarming the public with visible raw open wounds on its head, legs and shell. Meetings were called, a council was established and 10 government agencies were put to work to try to save it. It's the first time anyone has tried to capture the turtle, and Vietnamese have flocked to the lake in hopes of spotting it — a sign of good luck — as newspapers run daily articles about its plight. "For the Vietnamese, the Hoan Kiem lake turtle is the mos...